*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, 30 September 2014 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics that includes trade data with Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BLNS) for August 2014 and that recorded a trade deficit of R16.30 billion.
Summary
The R16.30 billion deficit for August 2014 can be attributed to exports of R77.24 billion and imports of R93.53 billion.
Exports decreased from July to August by R8.19 billion (9.6%) and imports increased from July to August by R1.28 billion (1.4%). The cumulative deficit for 2014 is R70.74 billion compared to R51.88 billion in 2013.
Trade Highlights by Category
The month-on-month export movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | Including BLNS: | |
| Mineral Products | – R5 063 | 24.1% |
| Precious Metals & Stones | – R1 844 | 14.6% |
| Vegetable Products | – R1 246 | 19.4% |
| Base Metals | – R 641 | 6.2% |
| Chemical Products | – R 457 | 7.8% |
| Vehicles & Transport Equipment | + R1 044 | 12.6% |
The month-on-month import movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | Including BLNS: | |
| Mineral Products | + R2 028 | 10.8% |
| Machinery & Electronics | + R1 044 | 4.9% |
| Vehicle & Transport Equipment | – R 680 | 7.2% |
| Equipment Components | – R 353 | 4.9% |
Trade Highlights by World Zone
The world zone results for July 2014 to August 2014 as given below.
- Africa: The surplus decreased from R14 179 million in July 2014 to R12 974 million in August 2014. Exports decreased by R 121 million to R24 970 million and imports increased by R1 084 million to R11 996 million.
- America: The deficit increased from R 838 million in July 2014 to R3 833 million in August 2014. Exports decreased by R1 596 million to R6 514 million and imports increased by R1 399 million to R10 347 million.
- Asia: The deficit increased from R14 927 million in July 2014 to R18 136 million in August 2014. Exports decreased by R4 187 million to R23 248 million and imports decreased by R 978 million to R41 384 million.
- Europe: The deficit increased from R8 645 million in July 2014 to R10 332 million in August 2014. Exports decreased by R1 943 million to R18 022 million and imports decreased by R 255 million to R28 354 million.
- Oceania: The deficit decreased from R 458 million in July 2014 to R 419 million in August 2014. Exports increased by R 319 million to R 933 million and imports increased by R 280 million to R1 352 million.
Excluding BLNS
The trade data excluding BLNS for August 2014 recorded a trade deficit of R23.94 billion.
Summary
The R23.94 billion deficit for August 2014 can be attributed to exports of R67.02 billion and imports of R90.96 billion.
Exports decreased from July to August by R7.21 billion (9.7%) and imports increased from July to August by R1.23 billion (1.4%). The cumulative deficit for 2014 is R136.73 billion compared to R106.19 billion in 2013.
Trade Highlights by Category
The month-on-month export movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | Excluding BLNS: | |
| Mineral Products | – R4 759 | 25.2% |
| Vegetable Products | – R1 221 | 20.8% |
| Precious Metals & Stones | – R1 051 | 8.9% |
| Base Metal | – R 872 | 8.9% |
| Chemical Products | – R 399 | 8.1% |
| Vehicles & Transport Equipment | + R1 207 | 17.4% |
| Prepared Foodstuff | + R 397 | 15.0% |
The month-on-month import movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | Excluding BLNS: | |
| Mineral Products | + R2 037 | 10.9% |
| Machinery & Electronics | + R1 039 | 4.9% |
| Vehicles & Transport Equipment | – R 666 | 7.0% |
Trade Highlights by World Zone
The world zone results for July 2014 to August 2014 as given below.
- Africa: The surplus decreased from R5 498 million in July 2014 to R5 325 million in August 2014. Exports increased by R 855 million to R14 753 million and imports increased by R1 028 million to R9 427 million.
BLNS (Only)
Trade Statistics with BLNS countries
Trade statistics with the BLNS for August 2014 recorded a trade surplus of R7.65 billion.
Summary
The R7.65 billion surplus for August 2014 can be attributed to exports of R10.22 billion and imports of R2.57 billion.
Exports decreased from July to August by R0.98 billion (8.7%) and imports increased from July to August by R0.06 billion (2.2%).
The cumulative surplus for 2014 is R66.00 billion compared to R54.31 billion in 2013.
Trade Highlights by Category
The month-on-month export movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | BLNS: | |
| Precious Metals & Stones | – R 793 | 97.1% |
| Mineral Products | – R 305 | 14.7% |
| Vehicles & Transport Equipment | – R 163 | 12.0% |
| Base Metals | + R 231 | 41.0% |
| Machinery & Electronics | + R134 | 9.5% |
The month-on-month import movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | BLNS: | |
| Precious Metals & Stones | + R 40 | 10.2% |
| Chemical Products | + R 30 | 5.7% |
For more information, visit the Trade Statistics webpage.
