Namibia's exports rise in May as China becomes largest export market

WINDHOEK, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China became Namibia's largest export market in May as the country's exports rose 25.9 percent month-on-month, official trade data showed Tuesday.

Namibia's exports rose to 12.4 billion Namibian dollars (about 764 million U.S. dollars) in May, while imports increased by 9.3 percent to 15.5 billion Namibian dollars, leaving the country with a trade deficit of 3.1 billion Namibian dollars, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency.

China accounted for 25.2 percent of Namibia's total exports in May, becoming the country's largest export market, followed by South Africa, Zambia, Botswana and Canada.

Uranium remained Namibia's largest export commodity, accounting for 22.3 percent of total exports. Fish, diamonds, non-monetary gold, and nickel ores and concentrates were also among the country's leading exports.

The increase in export earnings was mainly driven by higher exports of uranium, base metal ores, nickel ores, petroleum oils, and miscellaneous chemical products, the agency said.

South Africa remained Namibia's largest source of imports, accounting for 31.1 percent of the total import bill, followed by the United States, China, Zambia, and Sweden.

Petroleum oils were Namibia's largest import commodity, followed by nickel ores and concentrates, and commercial motor vehicles.

The report showed that Namibia exported goods to 101 markets and imported from 163 markets worldwide in May.