Uranium Leads Namibia’s Mineral Exports for August

Uranium remained Namibia’s leading mineral export in August 2026, while petroleum oils accounted for the largest share of the country’s imports, highlighting the contrasting roles of mineral earnings and imported fuel in Namibia’s commodity trade.

According to the Namibia Statistics Agency’s (NSA) International Merchandise Trade Statistics Bulletin for August 2026, uranium contributed 26.5% of Namibia’s total export earnings during the month, making it the country’s largest exported commodity.

In simple terms, for every N$100 Namibia earned from exporting goods in August, approximately N$27 came from uranium. Most uranium shipments went to France and China.

The bulletin further shows that Namibia recorded a N$3.4 billion trade surplus in uranium, meaning the country earned N$3.4 billion more from uranium exports than it spent on imports in the same product category.

Non-monetary gold was Namibia’s second-largest export commodity, contributing 11.9% of total export earnings in August. Diamonds followed closely, accounting for 11.5%.

Nickel ores and concentrates contributed another 5.7% of exports. However, the NSA classifies these as re-exports, meaning the goods passed through Namibia rather than necessarily originating from local mining operations.

The figures demonstrate the importance of uranium, gold and diamonds in Namibia’s mineral export earnings, with uranium alone accounting for more than one-quarter of the country’s total export value.

On the import side, petroleum oils were Namibia’s largest imported commodity, accounting for 18.7% of the country’s total import bill in August.

The NSA further reports that with total imports reaching N$16.6 billion, this share translates to approximately N$3.1 billion spent on petroleum oils during the month.

Namibia also recorded a N$2.5 billion trade deficit in petroleum, meaning the value of petroleum imports exceeded the value of petroleum exports by that amount.

This contrasts with uranium, which generated a N$3.4 billion trade surplus during the same period. The figures show how earnings from mineral exports can be offset by the cost of importing essential commodities such as fuel.

The August 2026 figures place uranium at the forefront of Namibia’s mineral exports, followed by non-monetary gold and diamonds, while petroleum oils remain the largest import commodity.