Southern African country, Namibia has expressed its readiness to import more of Nigeria’s agricultural commodities such as wheat, soybeans, maize, sorghum, millet, and others to meet it local consumption demand.
The High Commissioner of Namibia to Nigeria, H.E. Mr. Humphrey Geiseb, while speaking at the maiden edition of AFRITrade B2B held in Abuja said the country is currently exporting salt and electronics worth around US$ 6 million to Nigeria, noting that imports from Nigeria to Namibia are minimal.
AfriTrade B2B is a platform for businesses from across Africa to meet, network, and do business.
Mr. Humphrey Geiseb pointed out that the ship transporting salt from Namibia to Nigeria returns empty, and Namibia expresses interest in importing various commodities particularly grains and other products from Nigeria.
“Namibia is a semi-arid country with periodic droughts, and Nigeria can provide various grain commodities such as wheat, soybeans, maize, sorghum, millet, and others to Namibia. During one of the past droughts, Nigeria donated around 100 tons of rice to Namibia. Millet is presently imported to Namibia from India as domestic production is insufficient to meet consumption. Namibia High Commission will work with various stakeholders and the grain Exchange in Kano to find a solution” he said.
He said since the country’s independence 33 years ago, Namibia has prioritized trade and the economic integration of Africa.
“One of the first commitments was to conclude a bilateral trade agreement with Zimbabwe. Namibia is a member of the Southern African Customs Union(SACU), one of the oldest customs unions in the world, with headquarters in Namibia. SACU members are Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland. All our trade activities of member states are regulated by the Customs Union. Namibia is also a Southern African Development Community (SADC) member.”
The High Commissioner said Namibia has signed and ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement and also decided to GTI2, which is an accelerated trade mechanism under the ACFTA. The Secretariat recently visited Namibia to ensure that all procedures, systems, and policies are aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement.
“Namibia is hopeful that ACFTA will create a single market that brings trade expansion and job creation to address Namibia’s high level of unemployment which is around 43 percent.”
