Stats confirm food import substitution emergency
Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday September 17, 2025 13:55
The pace of food imports comes as the country’s foreign reserves decline due to the prolonged diamond downturn. The Bank of Botswana has said retail, including food, is amongst the biggest consumers of foreign currency in the country, together with fuel.
Statistics Botswana figures made available last week indicate that in the first six months of the year, food and beverage imports averaged P1.16 billion per month, compared to an average of P1.12 billion over the corresponding period last year.
According to the data, cereals as well as various beverages, including vinegar, dominate the monthly food import items, with sugar and sugar confectionary frequently featuring amongst the top three.
Cereals include maize, wheat, rice and sorghum, grains that government has spent billions of pula over the decades supporting local farmers to enhance their production of.
Statistics Botswana numbers show that between January and June, the country’s imports of various cereals reached P1.28 billion, dominated to a large extent by maize. Sorghum, the national staple, was the smallest imported item amongst the cereals, demonstrating growing self-sufficiency in the domestic economy.
While no official figures have been released, it is expected that the healthy rains from the past season have helped the country’s cereal production, as the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture last week imposed import bans on several grains, including maize, beans, sorghum and cowpeas.
The suspension is seen as a sign that local stocks, stored and sold by the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board, are sufficient for demand. In a follow up statement, the Ministry defended its move.
“One of the key aims in government, occasionally, restricting the importation and exportation of key grains is to protect national food security by ensuring that there is enough supply within the country,” said permanent secretary, Kabelo Ebineng in a statement. “All key scheduled grains are available for sale at the BAMB.”
The BAMB is statutorily required to procure all scheduled produce from farmers for sale in the local market. Scheduled grains include maize, beans, sorghum and cowpeas.
In terms of the other high food import item, beverages, Statistics Botswana figures show that beer made from malt, ciders and related products as well as waters, dominate the list from month to month.
The food import numbers come as the central bank has said while the country has the correct policies for economic transformation and sustainability, there needs to be greater traction on the pace of reforms.
Bank of Botswana deputy governor, Lesego Moseki, recently said the ultimate solution to the country’s foreign exchange reserves’ challenges would be greater production of goods of a wider variety.
“We have to increase production levels and the range of goods we are producing for export or to substitute imports,” he told Business Monitor. “In the demands for foreign currency from banks to clients, the biggest item is oil for vehicles and the second is retail which is imports of food and others. “With oil, we may try to reduce its usage, but with goods and services, there’s a lot that can be done to offset the import bill.”
Food import substitution remains a government priority and the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme noted that agriculture received one of the highest numbers of project ideas during the recent call for proposals.