Global Courant
The South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) says the country posted a trade surplus of R10.2 billion in May 2023.
SARS said the surplus was due to exports of R184.2 billion and imports of R174.0 billion – including trade with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN).
However, the preliminary trade balance to date of R9.4 billion is less than R107.3 billion recorded over the same period in 2022 – down from R97.9 billion.
Year-on-year export flows increased by 2.1% from R180.4 billion in May 2022 to R184.2 billion in May 2023.
Import flows were also higher, rising from R151.1 billion in May 2022 to R174.0 billion in May 2023.
On a monthly basis, exports increased by 12.3% from R164.0 billion in April 2023 to R184.2 billion in May 2023. Imports also increased by 8.7% from R160 billion to R174 billion in the same period.
Following pending Vouchers of Correction (VOuchers of Correction, VOCs), the provisional trade balance surplus of R3.5 billion announced for April 2023 was revised upwards by R400 million to R3.9 billion.
SARS said the increase in export flows in May was driven by platinum, gold and diamonds, while the value of imports rose due to an increase in crude oil and petroleum imports.
China was again South Africa’s largest trading partner, totaling 11.9% of exports and 23.1% of imports.
Germany was South Africa’s second largest trading partner, accounting for 8.6% of exports and 8.9% of imports.
The United States took bronze, accounting for 7.7% of exports and 8.2% of imports, despite the strained diplomatic relationship between South Africa and the world’s largest economy.
For exports, the top five was completed by the United Kingdom (5.6%) and Japan (5.2%), while India (6.9% and the United Arab Emirates (3.3%) completed the top five for imports .
Exclusive BELN
Despite the overall surplus, when excluding trade with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN), South Africa recorded a provisional trade deficit of R0.8 billion.
Excluding BELN, exports amounted to R168.0 billion and imports to R168.8 billion.
In addition, the preliminary cumulative trade deficit for 2023 was R39.6 billion.
In 2022, South Africa without BELN recorded a trade surplus of R60.2 billion.
Month-on-month, exports increased by R17.9 billion (11.9%), while imports grew by R13.5 billion (8.7%).
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