Namibia is looking to cut down on the growing import bill of vegetable oils, especially for the most commonly-consumed oils such as sunflower oil, palm oil, soybean oil, olive oil and canola oil. This will be done by exploring domestic opportunities to produce those oils locally in various parts of the country.
At present, the country does not produce its vegetable oils, and therefore remains one of the biggest net importers of vegetable oils in southern Africa. To meet its domestic demand, the country imported vegetable oils worth over N$800 million between 2022 and last year.
The Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB)'s latest Market Intelligence Report shows that from all types of vegetable oils used for human consumption, Namibia mostly imports sunflower oil, followed by palm oil while the least-imported vegetable oil is sesame oil.
In terms of consumption, sunflower oil remains the most consumed oil in Namibia. The country recorded its highest consumption record of 24 908 tonnes of sunflower cooking oil back in 2019, and the trend has more or less remained the same to date.
Palm oil consumption, on the other hand, is also slowly becoming popular in Namibia, with an over 80% increase in consumption recorded between 2017 (248 tonnes) and 2021 (1 948 tonnes). Meanwhile, canola oil is the least-consumed vegetable oil, with an average consumption of 19 tonnes per year.
To curtail the country's mammoth import bill of vegetable oils, the Namibian government, through research and technical assistance from the NAB and others, is now looking to explore the country's potential to produce at least 24 145 tonnes of vegetable oils annually at various local sites.
The largest opportunity for Namibia is in sunflower oil, which has the largest import share of 22 340 tonnes, valued at over N$809.9 million.
The sunflower crop which is used for sunflower oil production is considered a fairly drought-tolerant crop which can potentially be grown successfully in Namibia, which is one of the driest countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Additionally, sunflower oil is the most consumed oil in Namibia, and it is imported in large quantities for local consumption. Hence, it provides a customer guarantee for potential sunflower crop farmers who might be seeking to explore this area.
As the most-consumed vegetable oil in Namibia, sunflower oil imports have been on an upward trend since 2018 from a value of N$350.5 million to over N$810 million between 2022 and 2023, marking an average increase of 19% per year. About 99.9% of this sunflower oil was imported from South Africa.
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Namibia also has the potential and opportunity to produce olive oil, as olive trees have proven to be quite suitable for cultivation in the Erongo region (along the Swakop River), where most of the country's largest olive oil plantations are currently situated.
About 960 tonnes of palm oil valued at N$29.9 million currently being imported by Namibia is another opportunity which can be explored by potential local producers, as this is currently not being produced in Namibia.
Palm trees are in the same family as date trees, and Namibia is currently involved in the commercial production of dates in the southern parts of the country, which could prove some suitability for palm tree prduction in the same area as well.
The NAB has over the years been calling on potential local producers to research more on their production practices and requirements in order to take advantage of the existing import gaps to produce for local demand.
Apart from the production potential in terms of value and tonnages available for consumption in Namibia, possible local farmers likewise have an opportunity to tap into export markets which may be available in other SADC countries.
