News
South Africa: Merchandise Trade Statistics for May 2015
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has released trade statistics for May 2015 that recorded a trade surplus of R4.99 billion. This figure includes trade data with Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BLNS).
Including BLNS
The R4.99 billion surplus for May 2015 is due to exports of R88.94 billion and imports of R83.95 billion. Exports increased from April 2015 to May 2015 by R3.94 billion (4.6%) and imports decreased from April 2015 to May 2015 by R2.49 billion (2.9%). The cumulative deficit for 2015 is R29.85 billion compared to R46.95 billion in 2014.
Trade highlights by category
The month-on-month export movements:
|
R’ million
|
|
|
|
Section:
|
Including BLNS:
|
|
|
Vehicle & Transport Equipment
|
+ R1 852
|
+ 19.7%
|
|
Vegetable Products
|
+ R 961
|
+ 27.4%
|
|
Mineral Products
|
+ R 949
|
+ 5.1%
|
|
Precious Metals & Stones
|
- R 934
|
- 5.4%
|
|
Chemical Products
|
- R 852
|
- 13.5%
|
The month-on-month import movements:
|
R’ million
|
|
|
|
Section:
|
Including BLNS:
|
|
|
Machinery & Electronics
|
- R1 680
|
- 7.4%
|
|
Vehicle & Transport Equipment
|
- R 476
|
- 5.3%
|
|
Plastics and Rubber
|
- R 289
|
- 8.1%
|
|
Mineral Products
|
+ R 654
|
+ 4.6%
|
|
Vegetable Products
|
+ R 241
|
+ 13.9%
|
Trade highlights by world zone
The world zone results from April 2015 to May 2015 are given below.
Africa:
Exports: R24 965 million – this is a decrease of R 529 million from April 2015
Imports: R8 179 million – this is a decrease of R19 million from April 2015
Trade surplus: R16 786 million.
This is a 2.9% decrease in comparison to the R17 295 million surplus recorded in April 2015
America:
Exports: R8 333 million – this is a decrease of R 129 million from April 2015
Imports: R9 819 million – this is an increase of R1 337 million from April 2015
Trade deficit: R1 486 million
This is a decrease in comparison to the R 20 million deficit recorded in April 2015
Asia:
Exports: R27 235 million – this is an increase of R3 390 million from April 2015
Imports: R37 626 million – this is a decrease of R1 650 million from April 2015
Trade deficit: R10 391 million
This is a 32.7% decrease in comparison to the R15 432 million deficit recorded in April 2015
Europe:
Exports: R19 808 million – this is an increase of R1 242 million from April 2015
Imports: R26 737 million – this is a decrease of R2 292 million from April 2015
Trade deficit: R6 928 million
This is a 33.8% decrease in comparison to the R10 463 million deficit recorded in April 2015
Oceania:
Exports: R1 070 million – this is an increase of R 88 million from April 2015
Imports: R1 390 million – this is an increase of R 137 million from April 2015
Trade deficit: R 320 million
This is an 18% increase compared to the R 271 million deficit recorded in April 2015
Excluding BLNS
The trade data excluding BLNS for May 2015 recorded a trade deficit of R4.11 billion. This is as a result of exports of R77.69 billion and imports of R81.81 billion. Exports increased from April 2015 to May 2015 by R3.44 billion (4.6%) and imports decreased from April 2015 to May 2015 by R2.47 billion (2.9%). The cumulative deficit for 2015 is R72.04 billion compared to R88.46 billion in 2014.
Trade highlights by category
The month-on-month export movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | Excluding BLNS: | |
| Vehicles & Transport Equipment | + R1 699 | + 20.6% |
| Vegetable Products | + R1 018 | + 34.7% |
| Mineral Products | + R 916 | + 5.6% |
| Precious Metals & Stones | - R1 234 | - 7.3% |
| Chemical Products | - R 855 | - 15.9% |
The month-on-month import movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | Excluding BLNS: | |
| Machinery & Electronics | - R1 691 | - 7.5% |
| Vehicles & Transport Equipment | - R 461 | - 5.2% |
| Plastics and Rubber | - R 294 | - 8.3% |
| Prepared Foodstuff | - R 261 | - 12.8% |
| Mineral Products | + R 657 | + 4.6% |
Trade highlights by world zone
The world zone results from April 2015 to May 2015 are given below.
Africa:
Exports: R13 722 million – this is a decrease of R1 029 million from April 2015
Imports: R6 037 million – this is a decrease of R 8 million from April 2015
Trade surplus: R7 685 million
This is an 11.7% decrease in comparison to the R8 706 million surplus recorded in April 2015.
BLNS (Only)
Trade statistics with the BLNS for May 2015 recorded a trade surplus of R9.10 billion. This is as a result of exports of R11.24 billion and imports of R2.14 billion.Exports increased from April 2015 to May 2015 by R0.50 billion (4.7%) and imports decreased from April 2015 to May 2015 by R0.01 billion (0.5%). The cumulative surplus for 2015 is R42.19 billion compared to R41.50 billion in 2014.
Trade Highlights by Category
The month-on-month export movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | BLNS: | |
| Precious Metals & Stones | + R 299 | + 69.6% |
| Vehicles & Transport Equipment | + R 152 | + 13.1% |
| Articles of Stones and Plaster | + R 73 | + 52.7% |
| Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles | + R 55 | + 21.2% |
| Vegetable Products | - R 57 | - 9.9% |
The month-on-month import movements:
| R’ million | ||
| Section: | BLNS: | |
| Precious Metals & Stones | - R 198 | - 95.1% |
| Vehicles & Transport Equipment | - R 16 | - 38.5% |
| Prepared Foodstuff | + R 91 | + 26.8% |
| Chemical Products | + R 62 | + 15.7% |
| Wood and articles thereof | + R 13 | + 18.3% |
