Media Releases 2009

South African Trade Statistics for September 2009

Pretoria, 30 October 2009 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics for September 2009 that record a trade surplus of R3.9 billion.

Summary

The R3.87 billion surplus for September 2009 was mainly due to an increase in exports of 12.77% and a decrease in imports of 1.65%.

Exports for September 2009 of R45.53 billion and imports of R41.66 billion resulted in a surplus of R3.87 billion.  
                                                                   
Imports decreased by R0.7 billion (1.65%) to R41.66 billion and exports increased by R5.2 billion (12.77%) to R45.53 billion. 

Trade Highlights by Category

• The August to September change (down by 1.65%) in imports of goods reflected decreases mainly in:
  
  • Mineral products [down by R2.1 billion (20%)]
  • Machinery and mechanical appliances and electrical machinery and equipment [down by R0.1 billion (1%)]  
    
• The August to September change (up by 12.77%) in exports of goods reflected increases mainly in: 
  
  • Precious and semi-precious stones and metals [up by R3.2 billion (32%)]. 
  • Base metals and articles thereof [up by R1.5 billion (24%)]; and 
  • Vehicles, aircraft and vessels [up by R0.7 billion (26%)]

Trade Highlights by World Zone

The world zone results for September 2009 as given below are unaudited, and those for August 2009 are audited. 

• Asia: The deficit decreased from R6.2bn in August 2009 to R4.7bn in September 2009.  Exports increased by R1.5bn to R14.3bn and imports decreased by R0.1bn to R19.0bn.
  
• Europe: The deficit decreased from R3.4bn in August 2009 to R1.2bn in September 2009. Exports increased by R2.4bn to R12.7bn and imports increased by R0.1bn to R13.9bn. 
  
• America: The deficit decreased from R0.8bn in August 2009 to R0.4bn in September 2009.  Exports increased by R0.5bn to R4.6bn and imports increased by R0.06bn to R5.0bn.
  
• Africa: The surplus increased from R3.1bn in August 2009 to R4.6bn in September 2009.  Exports increased by R0.5bn to R7.4bn and imports decreased by R0.9bn to R2.8bn.

                   For more detail, visit our website, www.sars.gov.za; Customs and Excise; Trade Data

ENDS