*NOTE TO MEDIA: The inclusion of BLNS country trade data was announced on 14 November 2013 and will be included in all future trade statistics
Pretoria, 29 August 2014 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics that include trade data with Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BLNS) for July 2014, that recorded a trade deficit of R6.88 billion.
Summary
The R6.88 billion deficit for July 2014 can be attributed to exports of R85.37 billion and imports of R92.26 billion.
Exports increased from June to July by R5.40 billion (6.8%) and imports increased from June to July by R11.82 billion (14.7%). The cumulative deficit for 2014 is R55.49 billion compared to R41.11 billion in 2013.
Trade Highlights by Category
The month-on-month export movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | Including BLNS: | |
| Mineral Products | + R3 997 | 23.8% |
| Vegetable Products | + R1 101 | 20.7% |
| Precious Metals & Stones | + R 927 | 7.9% |
| Chemical Products | + R 343 | 6.2% |
| Base Metals | – R 731 | – 6.6% |
The month-on-month import movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | Including BLNS: | |
| Machinery & Electronics | + R2 475 | 13.1% |
| Mineral Products | + R2 322 | 14.1% |
| Chemical Products | + R1 318 | 17.4% |
| Vehicle Components | + R1 363 | 23.0% |
| Vehicle & Transport Equipment | + R1 285 | 15.7% |
Trade Highlights by World Zone
The world zone results for June 2014 to July 2014 as given below.
- Africa: The surplus decreased from R14 427 million in June 2014 to R14 357 million in July 2014. Exports increased by R 438 million to R25 268 million and imports increased by R 508 million to R10 911 million.
- America: The deficit decreased from R1 535 million in June 2014 to R 827 million in July 2014. Exports increased by R 732 million to R8 120 million and imports increased by R 24 million to R8 947 million.
- Asia: The deficit increased from R10 790 million in June 2014 to R15 368 million in July 2014. Exports increased by R2 274 million to R27 003 million and imports increased by R6 852 million to R42 371 million.
- Europe: The deficit increased from R7 470 million in June 2014 to R8 614 million in July 2014. Exports increased by R3 007 million to R19 996 million and imports increased by R4 151 million to R28 611 million.
- Oceania: The deficit increased from R 259 million in June 2014 to R 451 million in July 2014. Exports decreased by R 196 million to R 621 million and imports decreased by R 4 million to R1 072 million.
Excluding BLNS
The trade data excluding BLNS for July 2014 recorded a trade deficit of R15.70 billion.
Summary
The R15.70 billion deficit for July 2014 can be attributed to exports of R74.05 billion and imports of R89.74 billion.
Exports increased from June to July by 4.20 billion (6.0%) and imports increased from June to July by R11.49 billion (14.7%). The cumulative deficit for 2014 is R113.74 billion compared to R87.95 billion in 2013.
Trade Highlights by Category
The month-on-month export movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | Excluding BLNS: | |
| Mineral Products | +R3 568 | 23.5% |
| Vegetable Products | + R1 072 | 22.3% |
| Precious Metals & Stones | + R 525 | 4.7% |
| Base Metal | – R 478 | – 4.7% |
| Machinery & Electronics | – R 258 | – 3.7% |
The month-on-month import movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | Excluding BLNS: | |
| Machinery & Electronics | + R2 459 | 13.2% |
| Mineral Products | + R2 315 | 14.1% |
| Vehicle & Transport Equipment | + R1 290 | 15.8% |
| Vehicle Components | + R1 363 | 23.0% |
| Chemical Products | + R1 199 | 16.7% |
Trade Highlights by World Zone
The world zone results for June 2014 to July 2014 as given below.
- Africa: The surplus decreased from R6 494 million in June 2014 to R5 542 million in July 2014. Exports decreased by R 767 million to R13 941 million and imports increased by R 184 million to R8 399 million.
Trade Release Tables
– Trade Release Table (including BLNS)
– Trade Release Table (excluding BLNS)
BLNS (Only)
Trade Statistics with BLNS countries
Trade statistics with the BLNS for July 2014 recorded a trade surplus of R8.81 billion.
Summary
The R8.81 billion surplus for July 2014 can be attributed to exports of R11.33 billion and imports of R2.51 billion.
Exports increased from June to July by R1.20 billion (11.9%) and imports increased from June to July by R0.32 billion (14.8%).
The cumulative surplus for 2014 is R58.25 billion compared to R46.84 billion in 2013.
Trade Highlights by Category
The month-on-month export movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | BLNS: | |
| Mineral Products | + R 428 | 25.7% |
| Precious Metals & Stones | + R 402 | 96.8% |
| Prepared Foodstuff | + R 235 | 29.7% |
| Base Metals | – R 253 | – 30.9% |
The month-on-month import movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | BLNS: | |
| Chemical Products | + R 120 | 30.1% |
| Precious Metals & Stones | + R 89 | 28.8% |
| Textiles | + R 58 | 22.8% |
