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Trade deficit slows down by 22.8%

Namibia’s trade deficit slowed down by 22.8% to account for N$5.8 billion in quarter 1 of 2015 from N$7.6 billion recorded in quarter 1 of 2014, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency’s first quarterly trade statistics 2015 that was launched earlier in the week.

Said the agency, the decline in the deficit was due to a slight decline in the overall import expenditure to N$19.4 billion recorded during the first quarter of 2015 from N$20.6 billion in the first quarter of 2014.
According to the agency the overall export revenue for quarter 1 remained relatively constant when compared to the same quarter the previous year. “It rose only by a mere 3.9% to account for N$13.6 billion up from N$13 billion in the corresponding quarter of the preceding year.”
“Namibia’s total exports for Q1 was valued at N$13.6 billion of which the bulk valued at N$8.6 billion was destined to Botswana, South Africa, Switzerland and Angola, including N$739 million which was destined to the Export Processing Zone,” NSA added.
Meanwhile, the agency noted that the country continues to depend on South Africa as a major source of imports, as the import bill from South Africa continued to ballon.
“This time around it rose slightly by 7.8% to account for N$12.6 billion compared to N$11.6 billion in Q1 2014. Furthermore, the most increase in imports was from Switzerland (238%) and China (185%).
NSA’s senior statistician; Trade Statistics, Elijah Saushini, attributed the increase from Switzerland to Namibia’s appetite for articles of plastics, vehicles and ores, while the growth in imports from China was mainly reflected by flight simulators, boilers and furnitures.
In regard to imports from other countries outside the top five countries, the agency said imports decreased by 133% to N$3.1 billion compared to N$7.2 billion recorded in quarter 1 of 2014.

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