Namibia's Trade within Africa Gains Momentum under AfCFTA

The AfCFTA agreement is one of the African Union's flagship projects under Agenda 2063, with a primary mandate to eliminate trade barriers and boost intra-Africa trade.

NSA Statistician General Alex Shimuafeni said in the Trade Statistics Bulletin for September that Namibia's intra-Africa exports of 4.7 billion Namibian dollars represented 52.3 percent of the country's total exports worldwide, while intra-Africa imports of 7.7 billion Namibian dollars accounted for 51.8 percent of its world total.

According to Shimuafeni, Namibia's exports within Africa are largely directed to countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. Imports came primarily from the same countries, excluding Angola but including Morocco and Togo.

In terms of international trade, Shimuafeni said that South Africa is Namibia's largest export partner, accounting for 20.4 percent of total exports. Botswana follows with 19.2 percent, while China ranks third at 16.5 percent. Zambia and France are fourth and fifth, contributing 7.6 and 6.5 percent, respectively.

Among Namibia's top import sources, South Africa leads with 37.6 percent of total imports, followed by China at 10.6 percent and Brazil at 6.4 percent. Chile and Morocco hold fourth and fifth positions, each contributing 3.7 percent of total imports.

Namibia's exports in September were primarily driven by mineral products, including diamonds, uranium, gold and petroleum oils, with fish being the only non-mineral product among the top five exports. Imports were dominated by petroleum oils, precious metal ores, fertilizers, copper ores and commercial vehicles.

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