Botswana Vegetable Imports 2026 Market Overview & Trends

Botswana's vegetable import value peaked in 2021 at over 33.4 million. However, the market has seen a sharp decline since then, with 2023 values falling to 10.8 million. Interestingly, while the value decreased between 2022 and 2023, the total quantity imported actually rose from 4.59 million to 5.79 million units.

South Africa is the primary supplier for Botswana, contributing 10.7 million in export value for 2023. This represents a massive lead over other partners. The Netherlands follows as a distant second with 143,240, while regional partners like Zambia and Zimbabwe contribute smaller values of 21,900 and 5,510 respectively.

Among emerging partners, Eswatini leads with a 5.5% growth rate, followed closely by Zambia at 3.44%. Although their total export values are currently small, these positive growth rates indicate that Botswana is beginning to diversify its supply chain through these regional trading partners.

The 2023 imports are led by seed potatoes (1.95 million) and frozen potatoes (1.83 million). Other major categories include globe artichokes and vegetable mixtures. These top five products, including mushrooms, represent the core of the vegetable import sector, with seed potatoes being the highest-value commodity.