Home » Media » Media Releases » 

30 April 2013 – Merchandise Trade Statistics for March 2013

30 April 2013 – Merchandise Trade Statistics for March 2013

Pretoria, 30 April 2013 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics for March 2013 that record a trade deficit of R7.77 billion.

Summary 

The R7.77 billion deficit for March 2013 is attributed to exports of R63.97 billion and imports of R71.74 billion.

Exports increased from February to March by R1.81 billion (2.9%) and imports decreased from February to March by R0.19 billion (-0.3%).

The reduction in the trade deficit was due to an increase in exports of mineral products and base metals, and a decline in imports of mineral products and foot & headwear.

The cumulative deficit for 2013 is R41.84 billion compared to R27.57 billion in 2012.

Trade Highlights by Category

The February to March change (up by 2.9%) in exports of goods reflected increases and decreases mainly in:

– Precious and semi-precious stones and metals decreased by R1 102 million (-7%);
– Mineral products increased by R 993 million (6%);
– Base metals and articles thereof increased by R 851 million (12%);

The February to March change (down by 0.3%) in imports of goods reflected decreases an increases mainly in:

– Mineral products decreased by R3 491 million (-18%);
– Vehicles, aircraft and vessels increased by R2 080 million (33%);
– Products of the chemicals or allied industries increased by R1 043 million (18%);
– Footwear, headgear, and articles made therewith decreased by R 565 million (-52%)
– Original equipment components increased by R 571 million (13%);

Trade Highlights by World Zone 

The world zone results for February to March 2013 as given below are unaudited.

Asia:  The deficit decreased from R12.06 bn in February 2013 to R 7.00 bn in March 2013. Exports increased by R 1.88 bn to R 22.63 bn and imports decreased by R3.18 bn to R29.62 bn.

Europe:   The deficit increased from R 5.36 bn in February 2013 to R8.01 bn in March 2013. Exports increased by R 0.33 bn to R 16.22 bn and imports increased by R 2.98 bn to R 24.23 bn.

America:  The deficit increased from a surplus R0.66 bn in February 2013 to a deficit of R1.45 bn in March 2013. Exports decreased by R0.97 bn to R 7.26 bn and imports increased by R 1.14 bn to R8.71 bn.

Africa:  The surplus increased from R1.37 bn in February 2013 to R3.22 bn in March 2013. Exports increased by R0.67 bn to R10.98 bn and imports decreased by R1.18 bn to R7.76 bn.

Oceania:  The deficit increased from R0.49 bn in February 2013 to R0.50 bn in March 2013. Exports increased by R0.17 bn to R 0.85 bn and imports increased by R0.19 bn to R1.35 bn.

For more detail and SA Trade Release Table, click here.

Share this page on:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Print