A brief look at Botswana’s imports and exports for November
Botswana’s overall exports amounted to P4.9 billion during November 2020, recording a decline of 16.5 percent compared to the revised October 2020 value of P5.9 billion.
During the same month, imports stood at P6.9 billion, down 16.6 percent from the revised October 2020 value of P8.3 billion.
According to the International, Merchandise Trade Statistics from Statistics Botswana, the leading import commodity groups were: Diamonds, Food, Beverages & Tobacco and Machinery & Electrical Equipment with contributions of 32.8 percent, 13.3 percent, and 11.5 percent respectively.
In terms of exports, Diamonds dominated the list, accounting for a whopping 89.4 percent of total exports.
Goods leaving the country were mostly destined to Asia boasting a market share of 63.5 percent, with the continent’s United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India accounting for 24.4 percent and 23.9 percent of all exports.
Goods to both UAE and India were mainly attributable to diamonds while Belgium received 23.6 percent of total exports during the month, wholly Diamonds.
For imports during the month under review, the lion’s share was sourced from South Africa, with our southern neighbor accounting for 67.1 percent of all goods imported into the country. Belgium and UAE trailed far behind, contributing 9 percent and 6.2 percent respectively of total imports that came into Botswana for the month of November.
