Local farmers being forced out of business

Farmers in the market are discouraged to stay as they are competing with low South African wholesale prices, causing them to make less profits and in turn produce less volumes of horticulture. This poses a barrier to enter the market for local farmers, therefore most farmers are opting to sell their products in the informal market, Simonis Storm said.

Namibia remains reliant on the import of horticulture products as imports continuously exceed exports and local production, Simonis Storm added.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which Namibia signed and ratified on 2 July 2018 and 1 February 2019 respectively, allows for the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade.

According to the AfCFTA national implementation strategy, trade liberalization also removes protection for some import-competing domestic industries, particularly if they are not competitive.

Market Watch recently engaged the Ministry of Industrialization and Trade on how it intends on striking a balance between promoting free trade without making local industries worse off.

According to the ministry’s spokesperson Elijah Mukubonda, “Article 11 of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) prohibits quantitative restrictions, however, there are provisions that protect members from import surges. Dumping may incur between trading partners. Trade agreements are normally negotiated to take into account the possible occurrences of dumping. In accordance to the African Continental Free Trade Area, Article 17 of the AfCFTA protocol on Trade in goods, provides amongst others measures that can be instituted when dumping transpires. Therefore, Namibia may suggest an anti-dumping measure where there is a sudden surge in imports of a product at the disadvantage of the country.

Furthermore, Namibia within the configuration of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) will identify products that will form part of the exclusion lists, an ongoing process.

Those products will not be subjected to tariff reduction commitments and therefore will not be exposed to competition from the AfCFTA state parties,” Mukubonda [email protected]