The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics for February 2013 that record a trade deficit of R9.52 billion.
Summary
The R9.52 billion deficit for February 2013 can be attributed to exports of R62.32 billion and imports of R71.84 billion.
Exports increased from January to February by R9.04 billion (17.0%) and imports decreased from January to February by R5.97 billion (-7.7%).
The reduction in the trade deficit from R24.5 billion in January 2013 was due to an increase in exports of mineral products, chemical products, precious metals and machinery and electrical appliances. Imports decreased in the following sections: prepared foodstuffs, chemical products, plastics and rubber, machinery and electronics and vehicles, aircraft and vessels.
The cumulative deficit for 2013 is R34.11 billion compared to R23.71 billion in 2012.
Trade Highlights by Category
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The January to February change (up by 17.0%) in exports of goods reflected increases mainly in:
- Mineral products increased by R 438 million (3%);
- Products of the chemicals or allied industries increased by R 450 million (15%);
- Precious and semi-precious stones and metals increased by R2 999 million (26%);
- Machinery and electrical appliances increased by R1 002 million (25%);
- Vehicles, aircraft and vessels increased by R3 157 million (80%);
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The January to February change (down by 7.7%) in imports of goods reflected decreases mainly in:
- Prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco decreased by R 432 million (-20%);
- Products of the chemicals or allied industries decreased by R1 129 million (-16%);
- Plastics and rubber and articles thereof decreased by R 675 million (-21%);
- Machinery and electrical appliances decreased by R2 950 million (-15%);
- Vehicles, aircraft and vessels decreased by R 849 million (-12%);
Trade Highlights by World Zone
The world zone results for January to February 2013 as given below are unaudited.
- Asia: The deficit decreased from R18.73 billion in January 2013 to R12.10 billion in February 2013. Exports increased by R2.65 billion to R20.71 billion and imports decreased by R3.98 billion to R32.80 billion.
- Europe: The deficit decreased from R9.70 billion in January 2013 to R5.38 billion in February 2013. Exports increased by R1.13 billion to R15.93 billion and imports decreased by R3.18 billion to R21.32 billion.
- America: The deficit decreased from R2.46 billion in January 2013 to a surplus of R0.56 billion in February 2013. Exports increased by R2.43 billion to R 5.75 billion and imports decreased by R0.60 billion to R7.61 billion.
- Africa: The surplus decreased from R1.80 billion in January 2013 to R1.80 billion in February 2013. Exports increased by R1.50 billion to R10.51 billion and imports increased by R1.50 billion to R8.74 billion.
- Oceania: The deficit increased from R0.42 billion in January 2013 to R0.49 billion in February 2013. Exports increased by R0.13 billion to R0.67 billion and imports increased by R0.20 billion to R1.16 billion.
