Business Reporter
IN September 2025, Namibia’s trade balance, which is the difference between the country’s exports and imports, recorded a deficit of N$3.4 billion.
This reflects an improvement in the trade balance when compared to a N$5.3 billion deficit recorded in the previous month. Further analysis shows that, year-on-year, a N$5.7 billion deficit was recorded in the same month of 2024.
This was revealed in the Namibia Statistics Agency’s (NSA) International Merchandise Trade Statistics Bulletin for September 2025.
Alex Shimuafeni, head statistician at the NSA, explained that the analysis of Namibia’s top trading partners revealed that South Africa maintained its dominance as the country’s largest market for both imports and exports.
“In terms of goods, the country’s export composition for September 2025 was mainly concentrated on commodities of the mining sector such as uranium, precious stones (diamonds), non-monetary gold, as well as nickel ores and concentrates,” Shimuafeni said.
He added that fish was the only non-mineral product among the top five exports. A 19.4% decline was observed in re-exports month-on-month, whereas a 17.0% increase was registered year-on-year.
The re-export basket primarily comprised diamonds, nickel ores and concentrates of base metals, petroleum oils, fertilizers, and ores and concentrates of base metals. On the other hand, the import basket mainly comprised petroleum oils, fertilizers, motor vehicles (for commercial purposes), nickel ores and concentrates, and motor vehicles (for the transportation of persons).
A review of trade in food items revealed that Namibia was a net exporter of food items with a trade surplus of N$58 million and a net importer of beverages, having recorded a deficit amounting to N$210 million.
The current report considered charcoal as the commodity of the month. The analysis revealed that the country exported charcoal worth N$100 million, mainly to the Netherlands, South Africa, and Poland, while on the demand side, the country imported charcoal mostly from Malaysia worth N$1 million.
Photo: Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade
