Chamwe Kaira
Namibia’s merchandise trade balance improved in 2025, narrowing to N$25 billion from N$38.6 billion in 2024, the Bank of Namibia said.
The improvement was driven by higher exports and slower growth in imports.
Export earnings rose by 18.7% to N$101.3 billion from N$85.3 billion in 2024.
Imports increased slightly by 1.9% to N$126.2 billion from N$123.9 billion.
Exports were supported by higher gold and uranium shipments, driven by both volumes and prices.
Imports increased due to higher demand for vehicles, machinery and chemical products. Vehicle imports were linked to mining activity, public sector fleet replacement and household demand.
Machinery and chemical imports were mainly for the mining sector.
South Africa remained Namibia’s main export market, taking 26.7% of total exports, up from 25.6% in 2024. Exports included gold, live animals and beverages.
China was the second largest market, increasing its share from 16.3% to 22.7%, mainly driven by uranium exports.
The euro area accounted for 17.9% of exports, including uranium, processed fish, beef, charcoal and grapes.
Botswana’s share declined to 13.5% from 19%, mainly linked to diamonds and fuel re-exports.
Exports to Zambia increased to 4.6%, consisting of fish and fuel re-exports.
Other markets included the United Arab Emirates, the United States, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Kingdom and Mozambique.
Rough diamond exports declined during the year. Earnings fell by 20.5% to N$10.1 billion from N$12.7 billion.
“This contraction reflected a combination of lower export volumes and weaker realised prices. The downturn was driven by continued subdued demand in major downstream markets, notably the US and China, alongside pricing pressures arising from increased competition from laboratory-grown diamonds and an excess supply of rough diamonds in the midstream segment,” the central bank said.
