Namibia records N$121m trade surplus as China dominates exports

STAFF WRITER

THE Namibia Statistics Agency says Namibia recorded a trade surplus of N$121 million in May.
This is a significant improvement when compared to a revised deficit of N$1.8 billion recorded in the previous month and N$3.4 billion recorded in the same month of last year.
According to the Namibia Merchandise Trade Statistics Bulletin released by the bureau of statistics on Wednesday China emerged as the leading export destination, while South Africa remained the primary source for domestic imports.
“The country’s export composition for May 2025 was concentrated in commodities from the mining sector, for instance Uranium, Non-monetary gold, Precious stones (diamonds), as well as ‘Copper and articles of copper’. Fish was the only non-mineral product among the top five exports,” Statistician General Alex Shimuafeni said.

According to NSA re-exports saw a rise in the month-on-month and a decline in the year-on-year comparisons by 14.4 percent and 21.1 percent, respectively.
The re-exports basket primarily comprised of copperand articles of copper’,nickel ores and concentrates’, ‘Ores and concentrates of base metals’,precious stones (diamonds) and petroleum oils.
on the other hand, the import basket mainly

comprised of petroleum oils, nickel ores and concentrates’, ores and concentrates of base
metals’, ‘Other machinery and equipment specialized for particular industries’ and civil engineering and contractors’ equipment.
“Turning the focus to trade on Food, including beverages, Namibia was a net exporter of Food

items with a trade surplus of N$420 million, while it became a net-importer of Beverages, recording a deficit amounting to N$178 million,” Shimuafeni said.
The current report considered petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) as the commodity of the month.
“The analysis revealed that the country imported Vaseline worth an amount of N$ 4.9 million, mainly

from South Africa. On the other hand, the country’s export of this product was a mere N$3100 (mostly a re-export to the Cayman Islands) during the period under study,” the report said.