Sea transport leads in third-quarter exports

MORE than 50% of all Namibian exports are leaving the country via the shipping industry, recent national statistics show.

According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), 53,5% of all exports from Namibia, worth N$10,4 billion, between July and the end of September 2019 left through the sea ports to the rest of the world.

The large volume of exports by sea were mostly minerals (copper and uranium) and fish, the NSA said.

Air transportation ranked the second-most used means of transporting exports, although the value of exports weakened following a decline in precious stones (diamonds) and metals.

The NSA stated that recent figures of exports by air amounted to N$4,5 billion, down by 23,5% after registering N$5,8 billion million in the third quarter last year.

Road transportation was the third-most used means of transporting domestic exports to the rest of the world, registering N$4,4 billion worth of exports, a 1,6% increase from N$4,3 billion recorded in the corresponding period a year ago. For imports, most of the goods relied on road transportation.

“Most of the cargo imported into Namibia was transported by means of the road, with copper, mineral oils and fuels, and motor-vehicles and parts accounting for the largest share of the total imports,” said the NSA.

Over N$17,2 billion worth of goods were imported by road, down from N$17,4 billion transported by road over the same quarter in 2018.

Sea transportation was the second-most freguently used mode of transport for imports into the country at N$3,5 billion, while air transportation recorded N$1 billion worth of goods, a negligible figure when compared to the value of imports by road and sea transport, the NSA added.

Last week, The Namibian reported that for the three months, the country’s exports (58%), most of which were raw materials, were destined for China, followed by South Africa, Belgium, Botswana and Spain.

China accounted for the largest export destination, with 20,1% of all goods exported, with South Africa in second place accounting for 16,6%. Imports were also largely supplied by South Africa, Zambia, China, Bulgaria and Chile, who provided the most-needed import requirements for the domestic economy.

South Africa accounted for the largest share (47,3%) of imports into Namibia.

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