Diamonds, gold boost Namibia’s producer prices
Namibia’s Producer Price Index (PPI) recorded strong growth in the third quarter of 2025, rising by 12% quarter-on-quarter and 10.4% year-on-year, driven mainly by sustained increases in mining and manufacturing prices, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), which released the latest PPI bulletin last week.
The NSA reported that the overall rise in producer prices was “mainly driven by an increase in prices of products from the mining and quarrying sector and products from the manufacturing sector, both on a quarterly and annual basis”.
Mining and quarrying posts sharp gains
The mining and quarrying index surged by 24.5% in Q3 2025, climbing to 120 basis points from 96.3 basis points in the previous quarter. According to the NSA, this reflects “a positive shift in prices within the sector”, supported by higher commodity prices for diamonds (57.2%), zinc (9.8%), and uranium (9.3%).
Year-on-year, the index for mining and quarrying expanded by 20%, increasing from 100 basis points in Q3 2024 to 120 basis points in Q3 2025. This annual growth was attributed to strong price increases in salt (48.7%), gold (38.4%), diamonds (27.1%), and zinc (6.3%).
Manufacturing sector strengthens
The manufacturing index rose by 8.2 basis points quarter-on-quarter, moving from 103.9 basis points in Q2 2025 to 112.1 basis points in Q3 2025, representing quarterly growth of 7.9%. The NSA noted that the rise was largely supported by price increases in fish processing on shore (47.9%), the manufacture of other food products (16%), diamond cutting and polishing (7.2%), and the manufacture of non-alcoholic beverages (5.1%).
On an annual basis, the manufacturing index increased by 7.8%, rising from 104 basis points in Q3 2024 to 112.1 basis points in Q3 2025. Significant contributors to the year-on-year growth included fish processing on shore (75.8%), the manufacturing of other food products (16.5%), meat processing (7.5%), the manufacture of non-alcoholic beverages (5.1%), and the manufacture of grain mill products (1.8%).
Electricity and water sectors decline
In contrast to the strong gains in mining and manufacturing, the electricity generation, transmission, and distribution index fell sharply to 85.8 basis points in Q3 2025, down from 100 basis points in Q2 2025.
“This reflects a quarterly decline of 14.2%. Similarly, the sector’s index fell by 14.2% y/y, from 100 basis points in Q3 of 2024 to 85.8 basis points in Q3 of 2025,” the NSA said.
The water collection, treatment, and supply index also declined slightly, edging down by 0.3% on a quarterly basis.
“The index stood at 100.7 basis points in Q3 2025 compared to 101 basis points in Q2 2025. However, on a yearly basis, the index edged up by 0.1% from 100.7 basis points recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024 to 100.72 basis points in Q3 of 2025,” the NSA said.
The NSA reported that the overall rise in producer prices was “mainly driven by an increase in prices of products from the mining and quarrying sector and products from the manufacturing sector, both on a quarterly and annual basis”.
Mining and quarrying posts sharp gains
The mining and quarrying index surged by 24.5% in Q3 2025, climbing to 120 basis points from 96.3 basis points in the previous quarter. According to the NSA, this reflects “a positive shift in prices within the sector”, supported by higher commodity prices for diamonds (57.2%), zinc (9.8%), and uranium (9.3%).
Year-on-year, the index for mining and quarrying expanded by 20%, increasing from 100 basis points in Q3 2024 to 120 basis points in Q3 2025. This annual growth was attributed to strong price increases in salt (48.7%), gold (38.4%), diamonds (27.1%), and zinc (6.3%).
Manufacturing sector strengthens
The manufacturing index rose by 8.2 basis points quarter-on-quarter, moving from 103.9 basis points in Q2 2025 to 112.1 basis points in Q3 2025, representing quarterly growth of 7.9%. The NSA noted that the rise was largely supported by price increases in fish processing on shore (47.9%), the manufacture of other food products (16%), diamond cutting and polishing (7.2%), and the manufacture of non-alcoholic beverages (5.1%).
On an annual basis, the manufacturing index increased by 7.8%, rising from 104 basis points in Q3 2024 to 112.1 basis points in Q3 2025. Significant contributors to the year-on-year growth included fish processing on shore (75.8%), the manufacturing of other food products (16.5%), meat processing (7.5%), the manufacture of non-alcoholic beverages (5.1%), and the manufacture of grain mill products (1.8%).
Electricity and water sectors decline
In contrast to the strong gains in mining and manufacturing, the electricity generation, transmission, and distribution index fell sharply to 85.8 basis points in Q3 2025, down from 100 basis points in Q2 2025.
“This reflects a quarterly decline of 14.2%. Similarly, the sector’s index fell by 14.2% y/y, from 100 basis points in Q3 of 2024 to 85.8 basis points in Q3 of 2025,” the NSA said.
The water collection, treatment, and supply index also declined slightly, edging down by 0.3% on a quarterly basis.
“The index stood at 100.7 basis points in Q3 2025 compared to 101 basis points in Q2 2025. However, on a yearly basis, the index edged up by 0.1% from 100.7 basis points recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024 to 100.72 basis points in Q3 of 2025,” the NSA said.
