Chamwe Kaira
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) was Namibia’s largest export destination in June, taking 30% of total exports, data from the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) shows.
The BRIC+5 bloc followed closely with 29.9%, while the European Union (EU) accounted for 12.5%. COMESA made up 11.6% and the OECD 9.1%.
Exports to SACU were mainly non-monetary gold and diamonds. The BRIC+5 bloc received mostly uranium.
The EU market imported fish, beef and ores and concentrates of base metals. COMESA’s main imports from Namibia were fish, sulphur, unroasted iron pyrites and rubber tyres. The OECD market took uranium and nickel ores and concentrates.
On the import side, SACU was also Namibia’s largest source, supplying 39.6% of all imports. Goods included commercial motor vehicles, sugars, molasses, honey and alcoholic beverages.
BRIC+5 supplied 15.3% of imports, mostly civil engineering and contractors’ equipment, iron and steel bars, and motor vehicles for transporting people. The EU supplied 9.5% of imports, mainly petroleum oils, rubber tyres and motor vehicles.
The OECD provided 8.4%, dominated by rubber tyres and contractors’ equipment. COMESA contributed 6.9%, supplying ores and concentrates of base metals as well as nickel ores and concentrates.
The NSA said Namibia’s trade strategy is built on its participation in key Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). These include the SADC protocol on trade, the Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU and UK, and SACU.
“Through these agreements, Namibia benefits from reciprocal preferential access to regional and global markets, allowing preferential treatment on certain commodities in these markets. This explains higher trade volumes between Namibia and these markets when compared to the rest of the world,” the NSA observed.
Caption
Namibia’s exports mostly went to the SACU region.
- Photo: Contributed
