Pretoria, 28 September 2012 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics for August 2012 that record a trade deficit of R12.2 billion.
Summary
The trade deficit for August 2012 increased by R5.5 billion to R12.2 billion (deficit of R3.8 billion in August 2011) from a deficit of R6.7 billion in July 2012.
Exports decreased by R2.1 billion (-3.3%) to R61.4 billion and imports increased by R3.4 billion (4.9%) to R73.6 billion.
The increased trade deficit of R12.2 billion in August 2012 was mainly due to increased imports of mineral and chemical products, combined with a decline in exports of mineral and chemical products.
The cumulative deficit for the year to date is R69.9 billion compared to R8.7 billion in 2011.
Trade Highlights by Category
The July to August change (down by -3.3%) in exports of goods reflected decreases mainly in:
- Mineral products decreased by R2 907 million (-17%);
- Products of the chemical or allied industries decreased by R1 297 million (-28%);
- Precious and semi-precious stones and metals decreased by R 61 million (0%) and
- Base metals and articles thereof increased by R 819 million (12%).
The July to August change (up by 4.9%) in imports of goods reflected increases mainly in:
- Mineral products increased by R3 294 million (24%);
- Products of the chemical or allied industries increased by R 748 million (11%);
- Original equipment components increased by R 276 million (5%);
- Vehicles, aircraft and vessels decreased by R 648 million (-9%) and
- Machinery and electrical appliances decreased by R1 394 million (-8%).
Trade Highlights by World Zone
The world zone results for July and August 2012 as given below are unaudited.
- Asia The deficit increased from R 10.5bn in July to R 11.3bn in August 2012. Exports decreased by
R 1.2bn to R 20.7bn and imports decreased by R 0.5bn to R 32.0bn. - Europe The deficit increased from R 6.4bn in July to R 8.3bn in August 2012. Exports decreased by
R 0.5bn to R 14.1bn and imports increased by R 1.4bn to R 22.4bn. - America The deficit decreased from R 1.8bn in July to R 0.5bn in August 2012. Exports increased by
R 0.6bn to R 7.6bn and imports decreased by R 0.7bn to R 8.0bn. - Africa The surplus decreased from R 5.9bn in July to R 1.8bn in August 2012. Exports decreased by
R 0.6bn to R 12.0bn and imports increased by R 3.5bn to R 10.1bn. - Oceania The deficit increased from R 0.6bn in July to R 0.01bn in August 2012. Exports increased by
R 0.2bn to R 0.9bn and imports decreased by R 0.3bn to R 1.0bn.
For more detail, visit our website, www.sars.gov.za; Customs and Excise; Trade Data.
SA Trade Release Table:
