South Africa remains a key import market
Low trade with the rest of Africa
Year to date, Namibia's imports sourced from the rest of Africa only account for 2% of the total bill.
South Africa remains a key import market for Namibia, accounting for 38% of the total import bill between January and May 2023.“South Africa’s dominant trade position with Namibia implies that we are vulnerable to cost pressures emanating from loadshedding, droughts, weak Rand exchange rate, looting by protestors and any other cost pressures in South Africa,” Simonis Storm said.
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), Namibia’s imports bill averaged N$10.6 billion in the first five months of 2023.
In May, the value of imports stood at N$12.1 billion compared to N$8.9 billion and N$11.6 billion in April 2023 and May 2022, respectively.
On the other hand, export earnings averaged N$8.6 billion year to date, leading to an average trade deficit of N$2 billion.
In May, the value of imports stood at N$9.3 billion compared to N$7.6 billion and N$7.8 billion in April 2023 and N$7.8 billion in May 2022. The trade deficit stood at N$2.8 billion in May.
Africa
According to Simonis Storm, year to date, Namibia’s imports sourced from the rest of Africa only account for 2% of the total bill.
Namibia signed and ratified the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) on 2 July 2018 and 1 February 2019 respectively. AfCFTA allows for the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade. This reduces the cost of trade, with the potential to enhance trade.
According to the national strategy report, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement establishes the world’s largest free trade area by the number of countries, with more than 1.3 billion people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at more than US$ 3.4 trillion.
As Namibia is a small open economy, AfCFTA provides an expanded market for its goods and services. It builds on the progress achieved through Namibian participation in regional integration initiatives, mainly the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), as key stepping stones to continental economic integration. AfCFTA can be an important platform for Namibian economic diversification, export expansion and competitiveness towards sustainable growth, creation of sustainable jobs and reduction of [email protected]