Staff Reporter
THE Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Land Reform, Ingwe Zaamwani, has announced that a trade ban between South Africa and Namibia, which prohibited the cross-border movement of selected produce, has been lifted.
Zaamwani said that the trade ban, which was lifted on 23 October 2025, affected farmers who incurred immense financial losses as well as spoiled produce, especially for the two main producers of tomatoes.
“The situation also threatened the grape harvest as exporters rely on South African transit routes to access EU markets. The suspension also affected over 20,000 jobs and weakened producers’ confidence,” the agriculture minister said.
Zaamwani said that the ban was implemented after the National Plant Protection Organisation of Namibia (NPPONA) in early August received formal notification from its South African counterpart, the National Plant Protection Organisation of South Africa (NPPOZA), regarding the suspension of import permits for selected horticultural commodities originating from Namibia. These included tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, watermelons, pumpkins, and squash.
“This suspension was precautionary, pending the submission of technical information to address phytosanitary concerns. Namibia submitted the required documentation on 12 August and acknowledged on 15 August, reviewed and accepted by NPPOZA. NPPOZA also raised concerns over Namibia’s import restrictions on South African produce and requested technical justification, which was provided by NPPONA on 15 August,” Zaamwani said.
She added that subsequent to this submission, there were back-and-forth engagements between the technical teams on the requested data, including the list of producers and additional documentation, such as detailed surveillance reports and pest diagnostics, which was unprecedented.
“This approach necessitated institutional restructuring in the shortest possible term. We therefore have commenced the process to increase staffing capacity for the Directorate of Plant Health. Due to the back-and-forth correspondence at technical levels without a resolution in sight, the matter was elevated to ministerial and subsequently to presidential levels. Subsequent to timely intervention by the Head of State to safeguard the livelihoods of Namibian producers, this helped to preserve the integrity of the horticultural value chain, maintain our country’s standing as a reliable agricultural trade partner, and reaffirm the sound bilateral relations with our biggest trading partner and sisterly country, South Africa,” Zaamwani said.
