POLITICS

R12.6bn trade deficit in September 2014 on old measure - SARS

This is down from the R24bn deficit recorded in August, and the R18.9bn deficit recorded in September 2013

SARS Media Release - South African Trade Statistics for September 2014

Pretoria, 31 October 2014 - The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics for September 2014 that recorded a trade deficit of R2.91 billion. This figure includes trade data between South Africa and Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BLNS countries).

Summary

The R2.91 billion deficit for September 2014 is due to exports of R90.79 billion and imports of R93.71 billion. Exports increased from August to September 2014 by R14.00 billion (18.2%) and imports increased from August to September 2014 by R0.17 billion (0.2%).

The cumulative deficit for 2014 is R73.74 billion compared to R63.07 billion in 2013.

Trade highlights by category

The month-on-month export movements:

R' million

 

Section:

Including BLNS:

Precious Metals & Stones

+ R4 844

44.9%

Mineral Products

+ R3 911

24.3%

Vehicles & Transport Equipment

+ R2 075

22.4%

Chemical Products

+ R1 045

21.6%

Base Metals

+ R 883

8.9%

Machinery & Electronics

+ R 875

10.8%

Other Unclassified

+ R 606

233.0%

Vegetable Products

- R 695

- 13.5%

The month-on-month import movements: 

R' million

 

Section:

Including BLNS:

Vegetable Products

+ R1 305

76.7%

Chemical Products

+ R 631

7.3%

Base Metals

+ R 548

13.9%

Mineral Products

+ R 542

2.6%

Equipment Components

- R 901

-13.0%

Vehicles and Transport Equipment

-R 1 137

-12.9%

Machinery and Electronics

-R 1 481

-6.6%

Trade highlights by world zone

The world zone results for September 2014 are given below.

Africa:

Exports: R 28 202 million - this is an increase of R 3 949 million from August 2014

Imports: R 11 573 million - this is a decrease of R 1 471 million from August 2014

Trade surplus: R 16 629 million.

This is a 48.4% increase in comparison to the R 11 208 million surplus recorded in August 2014.

America:   

Exports: R 8 249 million - this is an increase of R 1 732 million from August 2014

Imports: R 9 054 million - this is a decrease of R 243 million from August 2014

Trade deficit: -R 805 million

This is a 71.1% decrease in comparison to the -R 2 780 million deficit recorded in August 2014.

Asia:  

Exports: R 25 959 million - this is an increase of R 2 465 million from August 2014

Imports: R 44 095 million - this is an increase of R 2 717 million from August 2014

Trade deficit: -R 18 137 million

This is a 1.4% increase in comparison to the -R 17 885 million deficit recorded in August 2014.

Europe:    

Exports: R 22 599 million ­- this is an increase of R 4 553 million from August 2014

Imports: R 27 725 million- this is a decrease of R 642 million from August 2014

Trade deficit: -R 5 125 million

This is a 50.3% decrease in comparison to the -R 10 320 million deficit recorded in August 2014.

Oceania:  

Exports: R 998 million - this is an increase of R 65 million from August 2014

Imports:  R1 167 million - this is a decrease of R 185 million from August 2014

Trade deficit: -R 169 million

This is a 59.6% decrease in comparison to the -R 419 million deficit recorded in August 2014

Trade Statistics excluding BLNS countries

The trade data excluding BLNS for September 2014 recorded a trade deficit of R 12.64 billion.

Summary

The R 12.64 billion deficit for September 2014 is as a result of exports of R 78.60 billion and imports of R 91.24 billion. Exports increased from August to September by R 12.00 billion (18.0%) and imports increased from August to September by R 0.27 billion (0.3%).

The cumulative deficit for 2014 excluding BLNS countries is R 149.43 billion compared to R 124.35 billion in 2013.

Trade highlights by category

The month-on-month export movements:

R' million

 

Section:

Excluding BLNS:

Precious Metals & Stones

+ R4 046

  37.6%

Mineral Products

+ R3 475

24.3%

Vehicles & Transport Equipment

+ R1 784

22.2%

Chemical Products

+ R 939

24.0%

Base Metals

+ R 809

8.9%

Machinery & Electronics

+ R 783

12.0%

Other Unclassified

+ R 606

240.5%

Vegetables Products

- R 658

-14.2%

The month-on-month import movements:

R' million

 

Section:

Excluding BLNS:

Vegetable Products

+ R1 319

79.8%

Chemical Products

+ R 670

8.2%

Base Metals

+ R 538

14.1%

Mineral Products

+ R529

2.5%

Equipment Components

- R901

13.0%

Vehicle & Transport Equipment

-R1 133

-12.9%

Machinery & Electronics

-R1 517

-6.8%

Trade highlights by world zone        

The world zone results from August 2014 to September 2014 are given below.         

Africa:     

Exports: R 16 005 million - this is an increase of R 1 947 million from August 2014

Imports: R 9 107 million - this is a decrease of R 1 371 million from August 2014

Trade surplus: R 6 898 million

This is a 92.7% decrease in comparison to the R 3 580 million surplus recorded in August.

BLNS TRADE DATA (Only)

Trade Statistics with BLNS countries

Trade statistics with the BLNS for September 2014 recorded a trade surplus of R9.73 billion.

Summary

The R 9.73 billion surplus for September 2014 is as a result of exports of R 12.20 billion and imports of R 2.47 billion.

Exports increased from August to September by R 2.00 billion (19.6%) and imports decreased from August to September by R 0.10 billion (3.9%).   

The cumulative surplus for 2014 is R 75.68 billion compared to R 61.28 billion in 2013.

Trade Highlights by Category

The month-on-month export movements:

R' million

 

Section:

BLNS:

Precious Metals & Stones

+ R 798

3401.3%

Mineral Products

+ R 436

24.9%

Vehicles & Transport Equipment

+ R 291

24.3%

Plastics & Rubber

+ R 112

23.8%

Chemical Products

+ R 106

11.7%

The month-on-month import movements:

R' million

 

Section:

BLNS:

Precious Metals & Stones

- R 223

50.9%

Live Animals

+ R 68

31.2%

Machinery & Electronics

+ R 35

19.1%

Statement issued by Adrian Lackay, SARS Spokesperson, October 31 2014

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter