China emerges as Namibia's top export market in November 2023

WINDHOEK, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- In November 2023, China became Namibia's largest export market, while South Africa continued as the primary supplier, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) said on Thursday.

Statistician General Alex Shimuafeni said in a statement that the semi-arid nation's export earnings significantly increased by 73 percent, rising from 6.8 billion Namibia dollars (about 358 million U.S. dollars) in October 2023 to 11.8 billion Namibia dollars.

According to the statement, during November 2023, Namibia's top five export markets accounted for 77.8 percent of total exports. China took first position as Namibia's main export destination, accounting for 23.9 percent of exports, Botswana in second with a share of 22.2 percent, while South Africa occupied the third position with a share of 19.5 percent.

Shimuafeni said that exports were dominated by minerals such as uranium, diamonds, gold, and copper-related products, with fish being the only non-mineral product in the top five.

According to Shimuafeni, the country's trade balance during the reviewed month showed a deficit of 4 billion Namibia dollars, an improvement from October's 4.5 billion Namibia dollars.

The import bill for the month under review increased by 39.7 percent from 11.3 billion Namibia dollars recorded during the preceding month.

The main imports included petroleum oils, inorganic chemical elements, civil engineering and contractors' equipment, motor vehicles for goods transportation, and medicaments, the NSA said.