By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Erastus
After another dismal grain production at the end of June 2023, Namibia had to spend N$142 million to import cereal grain from Poland, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) said.
In the second quarter of 2023, the country’s grain production of maize, wheat and millet was so low the country had to spend N$299.2 million on grain import, the NSA said in its quarterly report.
The country could only produce 21,953 tonnes of cereal grain with white maize dominating the production of controlled grains of 21,648 tonnes, followed by millet (295 tonnes).
Wheat recorded the lowest production of 10 tonnes.
Total agronomy production declined by 60.1% from 55,036 tonnes recorded in the second quarter of 2022 to 21,953 tonnes registered in the second quarter of 2023.
During the quarter under review, the import bill of cereal grains was dominated by wheat valued at N$171.9 million, followed by maize at N$121.2 million, and rice at N$3.3 million.
Most of the imports for cereal grains were sourced from South Africa (N$155.0 million) and Poland (N$142.0 million), representing shares of 51.8% and 47.5%, respectively.
The low production is also expected to worsen food insecurity in the country as the prices of food items increase due to import costs.
According to the Namibia Agricultural Union’s (NAU) second-quarter review, comparing Jan-June 2022 with that of 2023, food inflation went from 6.6% to 13.3%.
Major increases were recorded in categories such as bread and cereals, and vegetables including potatoes and other tubers, while the rise in the overall annual inflation rate during the same period increased from 5.1% to 6.5%.
The NAU report also highlighted that the elevated inflation means consumer buying power remained weak during the review period, affecting demand for, among others, agricultural produce.
More than 500,000 Namibians are facing food insecurity till the next harvest, with them expected to depend on shops for food and drought relief programmes.
The country’s low production has also led to the Agro-Marketing Trading Agency (Amta) which manages the country’s grain silos to reduce its grain needs from 9,125 tonnes of white maize to just 5,000 tonnes.
The company indicated that the decision to reduce grain needs from local producers is because of low production.
Between November 2023 and April 2024, AMTA will need 1,000 tonnes of cereal grains monthly. Email: erastus@thevillager.com.na
Nam Imports 47% Of Cereal Grain From Poland
