Namibia’s Producer Price Index (PPI) for the second quarter of 2025 recorded a mixed performance across key sectors of the economy, with manufacturing experiencing significant declines while mining registered positive price growth.

This is according to the Producer Price Index bulletin for Q2 2025, released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) recently.

Overall, the PPI dropped by 3.1% quarter-on-quarter and 2.5% year-on-year in Q2 2025, largely due to falling prices in manufactured products, which declined sharply by 9.3% from the previous quarter.

“The significant decline in the manufacturing sector, particularly in diamond cutting and cement production, played a major role in the overall decrease,” Alex Shimuafeni, NSA’s Statistician General, said.

The report indicates that the mining and quarrying sector recorded a positive price shift, growing by 4.5% from the first to the second quarter of 2025. This was driven by price increases in key commodities such as salt (29%), gold (16%), and uranium (8.8%).

However, on an annual basis, the sector experienced a 5.1% decline compared to Q2 2024, reflecting mixed long-term performance.

In contrast, the manufacturing sector faced a notable downturn, with its PPI falling by 9.3% from the previous quarter, mainly due to a 40.5% decline in diamond cutting and a 29.9% decrease in cement prices.

Year-on-year, the manufacturing index saw a slight dip of 0.2%. In the electricity generation, transmission, and distribution sector, prices remained unchanged, signalling stability. Similarly, the water collection, treatment, and supply sector recorded a marginal quarterly decline of 0.1% but achieved a modest year-on-year increase of 1%.

This analysis, crucial for policymakers and business stakeholders, highlights key trends expected to inform strategic decisions on pricing, investment, and economic planning.

“The PPI is a critical tool for understanding price movements, especially in sectors like manufacturing and mining,” Shimuafeni added.