By:Justicia Shipena
Trade of fish products showed surpluses in the first quarter of 2023, increasing from N$2.9 billion in the first quarter of 2022 to N$3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).
As the agency reviewed the agriculture and fishery sectors’ performances during Q1 2023, Statistician General and Chief Executive Officer Alex Shimuafeni explained that the widening of the surplus is due to a rise in export value with a decrease in import bill for the same period.
In terms of imports, Namibia demanded fish worth N$167.9 million in the first quarter of 2023, down from N$193.5 million in the first quarter of 2022.
In this regard, fish products were primarily imported from Morocco (19.4%), Chile (17.6%), and the United States of America (14.1%).
During the same period, total landings quota species fell by 22.2%, totaling 87,472 metric tonnes, compared to a 10.4% growth (112,450 metric tonnes) in the equivalent quarter of 2022.
“All fish species registered declines in landings during the period under review. Horse mackerel recorded the highest landings of 43,346 metric tonnes, followed by 41,155 metric tonnes of Hake landings and Monk in third place with 1 672 metric tonnes,” said Shimuafeni.
Shimuafeni stated that duringQ1 2023, a total of N$4.0 billion in fish and crustaceans, molluscs, and other aquatic invertebrates were exported.
This, he said, is in comparison to the N$3.1 billion recorded in Q1 2022.
According to the NSA analysis, fish had a proportion of 32.9% and was primarily going to Spain. Zambia came in second with a share of 16.2%, and Democratic Republic of the Congo took third with a share of 12.0% of the total fish export.
On the other hand, compared to a decline of 34.3% in the equivalent quarter of 2022, the overall agronomy production for Q1 2023 climbed by 8.1%, totaling 2,095 tonnes.
“The increase during the quarter under review is witnessed in millet and wheat that recorded growths of 201.0% and 10.8%. White maize on the other hand recorded a decline of 6.8%.”
According to the Statistician General, the distribution of agricultural production in Q1 2023 was comparable to that of the same period in 2022, with white maize production coming in at the top of the list with 1,293 tonnes produced.Wheat productioncame next at 501 tonnes.
Millet output, meanwhile, was the lowest at 301 tonnes while increasing the most from the 100 tonnes reported in the same quarter of 2022.
Shimuafeni pointed out that the overall value of agronomy goods exported during that time was N$311.3 thousand, whereas the cost of imports at that time was N$518.3 million.
“For export, mainly maize was exported to the value of N$311.1 during the review quarter. In terms of import of agronomy products, maize and wheat contributed the highest to the import bill, amounting to N$362.0 million and N$135.2 million, respectively.”
He said Angola was the primary market for Namibian agricultural exports, accounting for N$311.0 thousand, or 99.9% of total foreign revenues.
However, the majority of imports were from South Africa ($445.2 million, or 85.9% of the total), Latvia ($61.2 million, or 11.8% of the total), and India ($10.8 million, or 2.1% of the total).
NSA said grapes topped the list of exported goods with overseas sales of N$79.9 million in the quarter under consideration.
“The export of date and tomatoes were also significant, posting values of N$58.2 million and N$19.8 million.”
In terms of horticultural imports, apples were first with a value of N$24.8 million, followed by vegetable seeds and onions in second and third places with N$20.8 million and N$13.4 million, respectively.
“Onions and tomatoes featured among the top traded products in both exports and imports,” NSA said.
In addition, the quantity of cattle sold at auction rose by 7.8% after falling by 30.7% in the same quarter of 2022.
In parallel, 74,289 heads of animals were auctioned during the time period under consideration.
“Auctioned goats posted the highest growth of 26.4% (15,898 heads), followed by sheep that witnessed an increase of 18.1% (11,897 heads).”
Thus, from 46,271 heads in Q1 2022 to 46,494 heads in the period under review, more cattle were auctioned.
According to the NSA, this results in a 0.5% growth that is negligible.
All types of animals experienced declining auction values during the period under review.
Goats came in second with a loss of 6.2%, and cattle came in last at N$31.82 per kg, a 13.2% decrease.
“Goats and sheep during the first quarter of 2023 recorded average prices of N$31.34 per Kg and N$32.19 per Kg, respectively.”
Namibia’s Fish Product Trade Surpluses Reach N$3.8 Billion In Q1 2023
