By:Justicia Shipena
Dates were the biggest export earner of horticulture goods during the second quarter of 2023, recording N$25.8 million in export revenue.
Tomatoes and vegetable seeds came in second, reporting N$3.3 million and N$1.4 million in revenue, respectively.
According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), potatoes topped the horticulture product imports during Q2 2023, accounting for a bill of N$17.2 million.
Apples and onions followed in second and third positions registering import bills of N$8.7 million and N$7.0 million.
The amount of animals sold at auction during Q2 2023 increased by 2.3% to 79,113.
According to the statistics agency, the number of goats and cattle increased by 18 933 and 50 ,94 heads, which is an addition of 18.4% and 6.1%, respectively.
On the other hand, the quantity of sheep sold at auction decreased from the 13,482 animals registered in Q2 2022 to the 9,386 sheep registered in the quarter under review.
“Prices across all types of livestock recorded declines during the quarter under review when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2022. Cattle posted the highest decline of 20.0% (N$25.96), followed by 17.4 percent (N$30.69) and 14.6% (N$28.70) reductions that were registered for goats and sheep.”
The NSA said the overall number of quota species landings during the Q2 2023 decreased by 24.7%, totaling 81,469 metric tonnes.
Comparatively, 108,179 metric tonnes were reported for the same period in 2022, except for Monk, which had a spike in landings of 14.5% during the assessment period. All fish species saw losses in landings, according to the NSA.
Horse mackerel recorded the largest landings at 44,548 metric tonnes, followed by Hake at 33 816 metric tonnes and Monk at 1 825 metric tonnes for third place.
A total of N$4.1 billion worth of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other aquatic invertebrates were exported during Q2 2023.
According to the NSA, these products were primarily destined for Spain, where they accounted for a share of 36.6% (primarily frozen fillet of hake), followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in second place with a share of 15.45 (primarily frozen mackerel) and Zambia in third place with a share of 14.3% (primarily horse mackerel).
“In terms of imports, the value for fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates amounted to N$173.3 million during the second quarter of 2023 compared to N$274.1 millionthat was recorded in the second quarter of 2022,” the statistics agency said.
During the quarter under review, products of fish and crustaceans, mollusks, and other aquatic invertebrates were primarily imported from the Falkland Islands, accounting for 65.8% of those imports (primarily frozen cuttlefish and squid), South Africa, with 20.2%, and Spain, with 4.5% (primarily sardines).
Additionally, a surplus for fish, crustacean, molluscan, and other aquatic invertebrate items of N$4.0 billion was noted during the time period under consideration.
When compared to the N$2.9 billion reported in the comparable quarter of 2022, the NSA saw this as an improvement.
Meanwhile, locally acquired regulated fresh produce totaled 4,377 tonnes in the second quarter of 2023. This is a drop from the 5,055 tonnes recorded in the same quarter of 2022.
Potatoes were spotted topping the local buy, accounting for 1,318 tonnes, followed by onions in second place, accounting for 1,216 tonnes.
Tomatoes, butternuts, and cabbage were among the top five domestically purchased domestic products during the quarter under review, accounting for 467 tonnes, 446 tonnes, and 357 tonnes, respectively.