SA’s trade balance takes a deep dive

The latest trade statistics from Sars reveal a significant downturn in South Africa's trade surplus, reaching R28.5 billion for the year-to-date period of January to October 2023.

Picture: iStock

The trade statistics released by the SA Revenue Service for October indicated a surplus trade balance for the cumulative year to-date (YTD) period January to October 2023 of R28.5 billion. This represents a massive drop from the R180.8 billion trade balance surplus recorded for the comparable period in 2022. The YTD exports were R1.692 trillion (YTD 2022: R1.678 trillion), and the YTD imports R1.163 trillion (YTD 2022: R1.499 trillion). South Africa’s YTD balances with its largest trade partners included a positive trade balance of R307.1 billion with Africa (exports: R454.7 billion, imports: R147.6 billion); a deficit trade balance of R33.5…

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The trade statistics released by the SA Revenue Service for October indicated a surplus trade balance for the cumulative year to-date (YTD) period January to October 2023 of R28.5 billion.

This represents a massive drop from the R180.8 billion trade balance surplus recorded for the comparable period in 2022. The YTD exports were R1.692 trillion (YTD 2022: R1.678 trillion), and the YTD imports R1.163 trillion (YTD 2022: R1.499 trillion).

South Africa’s YTD balances with its largest trade partners included a positive trade balance of R307.1 billion with Africa (exports: R454.7 billion, imports: R147.6 billion); a deficit trade balance of R33.5 billion with the US (exports: R158.4 billion, imports: R191.9 billion); a deficit trade balance with Asia of R322.3 billion (exports: R533 billion, imports: R855.3 billion); and a deficit trade balance with Europe of R20.4 billion (exports: R422.5 billion, imports R442.9 billion).

The key YTD exports included mineral products of R354.2 billion, precious stones of R250 billion, transport equipment of R153.1 billion, base metals of R152.4 billion, and machinery and appliances of R100.3 billion.

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The key YTD imports included machinery and appliances of R322.7 billion, mineral products of R263.1 billion, chemical products of R126.4 billion, transport equipment of R120.6 billion and imports for the automotive production and development programme of R110.6 billion.

The preliminary trade balance for October moved into the red at R12.7 billion, down from the revised September surplus of R13.1 billion. The October exports were R174.4 billion (September 2023: R174.7) and imports R183 billion (September 2023: R161.5).

The key export categories in October were mineral products (R42.8 billion); precious metals and stones (R30 billion); base metals (R16.5 billion); vegetable products (R9.7 billion); and chemical products (R10.5 billion).

The key import categories in October were mineral products (R48.7 billion); machinery and electronics (R38.9 billion); original equipment components (R14.9 billion); vehicles and transport equipment (R14.4 billion); wood pulp and paper (R4.7 billion).

The top five countries SA exported to in October were China (9.2%), US (7.1%), Germany (6.7%), Mozambique (6.6%) and India (5.8%).

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