Despite growth in exports, Namibia recorded a trade deficit of R29.2 billion in 2021, according to Alex Shimuafeni, statistician-general of the Namibia Statistics Agency.In his annual report, Shimuafeni says the value of total merchandise trade (imports and exports) in 2021 grew by 14.4% year-on-year to reach R165.9 billion compared to R145bn in 2020.Exports increased by 7.3% to reach R68.3bn from R63.7bn in 2020.However, the value of merchandise imports grew by 20% to R97.6bn from R81.3bn in 2020.This left Namibia with a trade deficit of R29.3bn in 2021 compared to R17.7bn in 2020.Pearls and precious stones (diamonds) dominated the export basket in 2021 accounting for 19.4% of total exports, followed by uranium (15.2%), fish (14.8%), non-monetary gold (9.5%), and copper blisters (7.9%).Petroleum oils accounted for 12.7% of imports, followed by copper ores and concentrates (5.4%), motor vehicles for transport of goods (3.1%), pearls and precious stones (diamonds) (2.8%) and vessels (2.4%).The main export destinations for Namibia’s products in 2021 were South Africa (20.1%), followed by China (17.9%), Botswana (12.6%), Zambia (7.3%), and Spain (6.3%).Namibia sourced 49.1% of its imports from South Africa in 2021 followed by China (7%), India (4.7%), Peru (3.7%) and USA (2.6%).In 2021, the Namibia trade dependence index (a measure of the importance of international trade in the overall economy) stood at 45%, indicating that Namibia’s economy has been largely dependent on international trade.There have been signs of an improvement in the balance of trade since the third quarter of 2021, when double-digit growth rates were registered in mining and quarrying (41.9%) and hotels and restaurants (19.5%). Other sectors which grew in the third quarter were health (7.3%); agriculture and forestry (5.9%); transport and storage (5.6%); and real estate and professional services (4.2%)
