Namibia spends USD 679,800 on apple imports in July 2024

NAMIBIA – Namibia spent NAD 10.3 million (USD 679,800) on apple imports from South Africa in July 2024, underscoring its continued reliance on foreign produce despite recent strides in domestic apple production.

This expenditure contributed to the nation’s growing trade deficit, according to data from the Namibia Statistics Agency.

Namibia’s domestic production of fruits and vegetables remains limited, with the country producing only about 35% of its vegetable needs.

Onions are the most productive crop, even being exported to South Africa and Angola. However, local fruit production covers less than 4% of the annual demand of 730 tons.

The country celebrated its first commercial apple harvest in May 2024, producing a modest 732 tons of apples. Despite this achievement, Namibia still relies heavily on imports to meet fruit demand, with 97% of fruits coming from South Africa.

“While Namibia’s apple production is a promising development, it covers only a small portion of local needs,” the report noted.

In July, Namibia’s export earnings dropped by 23.5%, from N$13 billion in June 2024 to N$10 billion in July, while the import bill fell by 12.2% to N$12 billion.

Despite these declines, the country’s trade deficit widened to N$2.1 billion, up from N$689 million in June. “Petroleum oils contributed the most to the trade deficit, recording a deficit of N$1.6 billion,” the report stated.

Namibia’s ongoing reliance on imports has been a key driver of the deficit, with apple imports from South Africa in July alone totaling N$10.3 million. This highlights the gap between local production and consumption, particularly in agriculture.

Manufacturing led Namibia’s exports in July 2024, contributing N$5.6 billion, or 55.9% of total exports, overtaking the mining and quarrying sector, which accounted for 39% of exports. However, the mining sector saw a decline of N$3.1 billion compared to the previous month.

Uranium remained a key export, bringing in N$2.5 billion, followed by non-monetary gold at N$1.3 billion and fish at N$1.2 billion. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing contributed 4.3% to the total exports.

While Namibia recorded trade surpluses with countries like China (N$1.3 billion), Zambia (N$518 million), and Botswana (N$512 million), the largest deficit was with South Africa at N$2.9 billion. Other significant deficits were with India (N$748 million) and the United Arab Emirates (N$701 million).

Sign up to receive our email newsletters with the latest news updates and insights from Africa and the World HERE.