Tanzania and Namibia look to expand food sector to boost trade – Business

The agriculture and fisheries sectors have been identified as key investment areas for Tanzania and Namibia.

Yesterday, during the Tanzania-Namibia business and investment forum in Windhoek, the two countries discussed ways to strengthen their economic ties.

Tanzania’s High Commissioner to Namibia, Ceasar Waitara, confirmed the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries but noted the lack of significant economic growth.

“Namibia and Tanzania have good relations, but our economic relations lag behind,” Waitara said.

Tanzania Cereals and Produce Board managing director Patrick Mongella said there were huge investment opportunities in Tanzania’s agricultural sector.

According to Mongella, favorable weather conditions allow for year-round farming, making Tanzania an excellent location for diversified crop production.

“All crops can grow year-round because weather is not a limitation,” Mongella said. “We don’t have real winter or summer, just good weather,” he said.

He added that Tanzania has plenty of unused land suitable for agricultural production, which represents a significant opportunity for Namibian investors entering agriculture.

Selma Namutuwa, director of investment attractions at the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), said the trade balance between the two countries had been disrupted.

In 2023, Namibia imported goods worth almost NZ$60 million from Tanzania, while exports remained very low at less than NZ$20 million.

“The food industry offers great investment opportunities and we are actively promoting it,” Namutuwa said.

It found that the key products imported from Tanzania are corn, rice, fruits, vegetables, spices and seafood such as shrimp.

Currently, Namibian agriculture focuses on dates, berries and grapes.

Additionally, Tanzania is currently the second largest supplier of livestock to Namibia.

Namutuwa also mentioned the introduction of the NIPDB Digital Nomad Visa allowing foreigners to work in Namibia for six months.

This initiative also aims to attract investment.

“Namibia has access to a market of over 600 million people through agreements such as the Southern African Development Community Common Market,” Namutuwa said.

Last year brought positive growth in exports between both countries.

Namibia mainly exports fish, beer and machinery for the mining and agricultural sectors.

Another potential area of ​​investment identified is seaweed processing, where Tanzania has room for improvement.

NIPDB Executive Director for Investment and Sector Development Francois van Schalkwyk emphasized the importance of infrastructure investments. He envisioned these forums as a springboard to build stronger bilateral relations.

Discussing key sectors of the Namibian economy, Van Schalkwyk highlighted oil and gas and the green economy as promising areas.

He said Namibia’s goal is not only to extract natural resources but also to add value, welcoming investments that focus on processing and adding value.

“Your investments are welcome as they will help develop these upcoming and new industries,” Van Schalkwyk said.

He highlighted the billions already invested in the mining industry and Namibia’s expectations of a near future transition towards a secondary and tertiary economy driven by these emerging industries.

Namibia Tourism Board chief executive Bonnie Mbidzo has advocated for Africa to emulate the European visa system to ease movement between countries and boost tourism.

“We must follow Europe’s example and establish a single visa that will allow travel within Africa, similar to the system in force there,” Mbidzo said.

He praised Namibia’s implementation of a visa-on-arrival policy for many African countries as a positive step towards promoting tourism investment.

Mbidzo further stated that the challenge is limited air transport connectivity in Africa, which is a significant barrier to tourism development.
He called on governments to improve the licensing process for potential investors in the aviation sector.