Namibia’s ice cream exports top N$405

Ogone Tlhage
Namibia exported N$405 worth of ice cream to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in September, the Namibia Statistics Agency’s (NSA) latest trade report shows. In contrast, the country imported substantially more ice cream for South Africa valued at N$9.8 million.

“In September 2024, Namibia exported ice cream and other edible ice valued at only N$405, to the DRC. While on the demand side, the country imported ‘Ice cream and other edible ice' valued at N$9.8 million, which was primarily sourced from South Africa,” the NSA said.

June saw the lowest amount of ice cream imports from September 2023 to September 2024, at N$2.5 million.

“Over the entire period from September 2023 to September 2024, the value of ice cream and other edible ice imported averaged N$7.4 million, with the largest value of N$15.1 million recorded in November 2023 and the lowest value recorded in June 2024 at a value of N$2.5 million,” the NSA said.

Diamonds and precious stones accounted for the largest share of exports, making up 20% of Namibia’s total exports.

“The analysis of exports by commodities revealed that precious stones (diamonds) had the largest share of the export basket, accounting for 20% of Namibia’s total exports ahead of uranium which accounted for 18.7% and non-monetary gold with a share of 12.8%,” it said.

Fish (11%) and petroleum oils (5.6%) came in fourth and fifth positions. In terms of imports, petroleum oils were the highest valued commodity with a share of 10.8% of total imports, followed by ores and concentrates of precious metals and fertilisers with shares of 5.7% and 5.2%, respectively, the NSA said.

Copper ore and concentrates as well as motor vehicles for the transportation of goods accounted for 3.7% and 3.3% shares of total imports respectively, according to the NSA.