CHAMWE KAIRA
Sea transport remained Namibia’s leading export channel by value in April, accounting for N$3.8 billion or 39% of total exports, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency’s (NSA) Namibia International Merchandise Trade Statistics Bulletin for April.
The NSA said uranium, fish, and nickel ores and concentrates were the main commodities exported by sea during the month.
Air transport ranked second, contributing 32% of total export value, driven largely by exports of non-monetary gold and diamonds.
Road transport accounted for the remaining 29%, with petroleum oils, fish and fertilizers making up the bulk of exports moved by road.
Despite sea transport leading in export value, the overall volume of goods exported declined sharply.
A total of 256 596 tonnes of goods left the country during April, representing a 24.8% decline from March 2026 and a 28.6% decrease compared with April 2025.
Road transport handled the largest export volume, with 167 133 tonnes of goods exported. This was down by 3 073 tonnes from March and 51 tonnes compared with the same month last year.
Sea-borne export volumes fell more sharply, with 89 272 tonnes exported during April, down 47.8% from 171 045 tonnes in March and 53.5% from 192,119 tonnes recorded in April 2025.
Air freight remained the smallest export mode by volume, with just 190 tonnes exported. However, this represented an increase of 43.7% from March and 58.6% compared with April last year.
On the import side, road transport dominated by value, with imports worth N$8.7 billion, accounting for 61.7% of total imports during April.
The highest-value imports transported by road included nickel ores and concentrates, commercial motor vehicles and passenger vehicles.
Sea transport ranked second, contributing 35.2% of total import value, with petroleum oils making up the largest share of imports by sea.
Air transport accounted for 3.2% of total import value, mainly comprising diamonds, telecommunications equipment, and aircraft and related equipment.
Import volumes increased during the month, with 485 488 tonnes of goods entering Namibia, up 7% from March 2026 and 4.2% higher than in April 2025.
Sea transport accounted for 257 708 tonnes of imports by volume, although this represented declines of 1.9% month-on-month and 5% year-on-year.
Road transport recorded the strongest growth in import volumes, with 227 542 tonnes entering the country, an increase of 19.4% from March and 17.1% higher than a year earlier.
Air imports totalled 165 tonnes during April, down 13.4% from the previous month and 1.8% lower than in April 2025, according to the NSA.
