Namibia exported oil worth N$307 million to Zambia and Botswana in January.
According to the latest trade statistics from the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), these transactions were classified as re-exports. This means these are goods imported by Namibia and then sold to neighbouring markets.
These re-exports come after an import of petroleum oils valued at N$1.5 billion, which accounted for 16.9% of the country’s total import bill.
The report says re-exports for the month totalled N$2.5 billion.
Petroleum oils ranked as the third-largest re-exported commodity (12.3%), primarily destined for Botswana and Zambia, the report states.
OVERALL EXPORT PERFORMANCE
Namibia’s total export revenue grew to N$11.4 billion in January, a 6.7% increase from December 2025.
When compared to N$10.1 billion recorded in January 2025, exports increased by 12.8%.
Statistician general Alex Shimuafeni says the export basket remains dominated by the mining sector.
“The country’s export basket for January 2026 was mainly composed of commodities such as uranium, non-monetary gold, precious stones (diamonds), and ores and concentrates of base metals,” Shimuafeni says.
According to the report, Uranium was Namibia’s largest exported commodity in January, accounting for 26.3% of total exports.
The goods were mainly destined for China and France.
Non-monetary gold emerged as the second most exported commodity, accounting for 15.8% of total exports, solely destined to South Africa.
Third place for exports was fish, which was mainly sold to Spain and Zambia, accounting for 12.1% of total exports.
Precious stones (diamonds) occupied the fourth position with a share of 6.9% of total exports, which went to Botswana and the United Arab Emirates.
Shimuafeni adds that Namibia has remained a net exporter (exported more than it imported) of food with a trade surplus of N$1.2 billion and a net importer (imported more than it exported) of beverages, having recorded a deficit amounting to N$240 million.
