Chamwe Kaira
Kunene Grapes and Citrus Et Al (Proprietary) Limited is planning to grow fruits such as grapes, citrus and avocado at a plantation in the northern western part of Namibia.
The fruits are planned to be grown on 670 hectares of land in Otjomaungu village in the Epupa Constituency that the company has applied for.
According to information obtained by Observer Money, the agricultural activities will be conducted concurrently across the applied plot and is expected to be conducted throughout the two plot areas.
The company is now planning to conduct an environmental management assessment under the Environmental Management Act.
The two agricultural fields are situated in Kunene Region and extend across close to the Kunene River, some 16 kilometres west of Ruacana.
The Namibian Agronomic Board says the horticulture industry in Namibia is growing steadily, but faced with many challenges such as drought, high input cost, pest and diseases.
Namibia remains a net importers of mainly fresh fruits, while the production of most vegetable line has been on the increase for the past 10 years after the introduction of the market share Promotion Scheme, which requires traders to buy a certain minimum, currently 47% of the value of locally produced products from local producers, as a condition for importation.
Agronomic Board says local production is primarily targeting the fresh produce domestic market and exports of mostly table grapes and onions. The agro processing subsector is still under infancy stage, with less than 1% of production goes into agro processing. The main production areas of the country include Karst, Central, South, Orange River, Kavango, North Central and Zambezi.
In terms of citrus fruit production, Namibia commercially produces oranges, lemons, and tangerines (known as nartjies in Namibia and South Africa).
According to the Agronomic Board the local production of citrus fruits in Namibia was 448 tons in the 2021/2022 financial year.
Namibia imported a total of 7,281 tons of citrus fruits in the 2021/2022 financial year. This comprised 4,916 tons of oranges, 1,520 tons of tangerines (nartjies), 845 tons of lemons and limes, and 0.6 tons of pomelos. In 2020, Namibia imported 99% of its citrus fruits from South Africa and a total amount of N$248 million was spent from 2016 to 2020.
Namibia’s biggest citrus export destination is Angola with a 65% market share valued at N$725 000 and 35% of the export share was exported to South Africa valued at N$386 000 over the period 2016 to 2019.
