Title: The Namibian Hake Value Chain Analysis

Abstract

The Namibian fishing industry is dependent on export markets as ~75% of the fish products are exported, making the sector undeniably significant to the nation’s economy. Hake is the country's most valuable commercial fishery, accounting for over 70% of total fishing employment. One of Namibia's national policies targets for the processing industries is to increase value-added exports of overall export values from 40% in 2013 to 70% by 2030, which could be achieved through enhancing value chains. As a result, the hake value chain activities, governance, value-adding functions, and the trade and marketing structures, were mapped and analysed. In addition, analyses were conducted to assess whether regulatory frameworks influenced policy objectives for further value addition, employment creation, and investments. Primary data was collected via questionnaires from nine hake processing firms, encompassing quantitative and qualitative data. The findings suggest that competence exists in the activities of the hake value chain. It also recognizes the value addition potential for secondary processed products and the challenges that may be encountered, such as distance from markets, costs, and prospective mechanization and automation, that may impact employment. While government policies appear to promote industry value addition and investment, they have also generated overcapitalization and resource access uncertainty. Furthermore, the findings reveal contradictory policy objectives, such as enhancing value addition at the expense of employment or increasing the TAC to put more pressure on hake stocks. As a result, the government must address these issues to prevent jeopardizing hake stocks which, are critical to the value chain.