Trade deficit widens

For the month of June, Namibia exported goods worth N$2.7 billion, compared to N$4.6 billion one month earlier and N$4.2 billion during the same month of last year signalling a significant decline in export earnings.
Fish, ores and precious stones (diamonds) continued to lead export commodities in June, complemented by meat and beverages. These commodities accounted for 60.4% of total export earnings, up from 60% earlier, but down from 76.7% a year ago.
June’s export destinations were dominated by South Africa, Angola, Switzerland and Spain. Close to 20% of Namibia exports went to South Africa, followed by Angola and Switzerland with 14.6% and 14.3%, respectively.

The total value of imports is estimated to have declined to N$5.2 billion in June 2014 from N$8.3 billion during the previous month, representing a decline of 37%.
However, compared to the same month of the preceding year when only N$4.5 billion worth of goods was imported, the import bill increased by 14.7%. The overall decline in the value of imports was largely reflected in the import value of mineral fuels and oil which declined by N$649 million during June.