No English cucumbers will be imported

ELLANIE SMIT

No English cucumbers will be imported into Namibia until further notice. This was announced to horticulture producers earlier this week by Namibia Agronomic Board (NAB) CEO Fidelz Mwazi.

He said there has been increased production volumes of English cucumbers locally, attributed to favourable climatic conditions.

However, some traders persist in importing cucumbers and therefore producers find it difficult to market their product.

“These measures will be implemented by the NAB to remedy this situation, as per the existing market share promotion rules and regulations.”

All valid special import permits issued for English cucumbers will therefore automatically become invalid as from 25 September, and will no longer be accepted at border posts, unless there are other specially controlled products on such permits for which borders are currently open, Mwazi said.

Physical inspections

Mwazi further said NAB compliance inspectors will conduct physical inspections at border posts or at first offloading points to ensure full compliance. He added that any illegal imports will be dealt with in accordance with the existing punitive measures.

Meanwhile, the NAB has also informed all white maize producers and millers that the marketing season for 2020 is coming to an end and that borders are expected to open for imports again from 18 October.

Applications for import permits will start in early October. Namibia closed its borders for the import of white maize on 1 June. Permits will, however, only be granted on condition that all the white maize on farms has been taken up and partially milled.