Namibia on Wednesday re-tabled legislation banning the importation of dairy products and protect their dairy farmers from competition.

Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Alpheus Naruseb tabled the bill in the Namibian parliament seeking to protect Namibian farmers who he said are hard hit by drought and need to be cushioned from rampant competition from outside.

"Namibian farmers are severely affected by drought and deserve to be protected from competition from outside," he said.

The import restriction legislation, Naruseb said is meant to give the Namibia dairy producers access to their market without being hindered by cheap imports who will have access to Namibian shelves.

In the past Namibia had allowed both local producers and foreign dairy imports to fight for space on different shelves as way of giving consumers an option.

The dairy industry is one of the key employment creators and sustains many farmers in the communal and commercial set-up.