Pretoria, 31 July 2012 – The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics for June 2012 that record a trade deficit of R5.7 billion.
Summary
The trade deficit for June 2012 declined by R3.2 billion to R5.7 billion (surplus of R4.9 billion in June 2011) from a deficit of R8.9 billion in May 2012. Exports decreased by R1.1 billion (1.7%) to R61.7 billion and imports decreased by R4.3 billion (6.0%) to R67.4 billion.
The reduced trade deficit of R5.7 billion in June 2012 was mainly due to a decrease in exports of mineral products and decreased imports of mineral products, machinery and electrical appliances, products of the chemicals or allied industries, base metals and articles thereof and original equipment components.
The cumulative deficit for the year to date is R51.1 billion compared to R2.5 billion in 2011.
Trade Highlights by Category
The May to June 2012 change (down by -1.7%) in exports of goods reflected increases mainly in:
- Vehicles, aircraft and vessels increased by R814 million (15%);
- Vegetable products increased by R699 million (27%);
- Precious and semi-precious stones and metals increased by R486 million (3%);
- Base metals and articles thereof increased by R118 million (2%) and
- A decrease in mineral products by R2 337 million (-13%).
The May to June 2012 change (down by -6.0%) in imports of goods reflected decreases mainly in:
- Mineral products decreased by R2 095 million (-11%);
- Machinery and electrical appliances decreased by R1 204 million (-7%);
- Products of the chemical or allied industries decreased by R 657 million (-11%);
- Base metals and articles thereof decreased by R 498 million (-14%);
- Original equipment components decreased by R 461 million (-10%) and
- An increase in Vehicles, aircraft and vessels by R 525 million (7%).
Trade Highlights by World Zone
The world zone results for May and June 2012 as given below are unaudited.
- Asia The deficit decreased from R10.0bn in May to R9.2bn in June 2012. Exports decreased by R0.4bn to R21.6bn and imports decreased by R1.2bn to R30.9bn.
- Europe The deficit increased from R5.0bn in May to R5.3bn in June 2012. Exports decreased by R1.1bn to R14.4bn and imports decreased by R0.8bn to R19.7bn.
- America The deficit increased from R1.4bn in May to R1.7bn in June 2012. Exports increased by R0.3bn to R6.9bn and imports increased by R0.6bn to R8.6bn.
- Africa The surplus increased from R2.0bn in May to R3.8bn in June 2012. Exports decreased by R0.3bn to R11.0bn and imports decreased by R2.1bn to R7.2bn.
- Oceania The deficit decreased from R0.9bn in May to R0.05bn in June 2012. Exports increased by R0.1bn to R0.8bn and imports decreased by R0.8bn to R0.9bn.
SA Trade Release Table:
