The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics for June 2010 that record a trade surplus of R5.6 billion.
Summary
The R5.6 billion surplus for June 2010 was due to an increase in exports of 17.8% and an increase in imports of 5.2%.
Exports for June 2010 of R55.6 billion and imports of R49.9 billion resulted in a surplus of R5.6 billion.
Exports increased by R8.4 billion (17.8%) and imports increased by R2.5 billion (5.2%).
The trade surplus for June 2010 is R5.6 billion (Surplus of R3.2 billion in June 2009) compared to a deficit of R0.3 billion in May 2010, a month-on-month improvement of R5.9 billion.
The merchandise trade surplus for June 2010 was partly due to:
- Postponed merchandise trading activities as a result of the Transnet industrial strike of May 2010
- Positive growth in seasonal exports in the citrus industry
The cumulative deficit for the year to date is R7.8 billion compared to R17.8 billion in 2009, an improvement of R10 billion or 56.%
Trade highlights by category
- The May to June change (up by 17.8%) in exports of goods reflected increases mainly in:
- Base metals and articles thereof increased by R3 048 million (45%);
- Vegetable products increased by R1 302 million (92%);
- Prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco increased by R1 128 million (78%);
- Products of the chemical or allied industries increased by R533 million (22%);
- Precious and semi-precious stones and metals increased by R433 million (3%);
- Mineral products increased by R432 million (4%);
- Machinery and electrical appliances increased by R318 million (8%) and
- Vehicles, aircraft and vessels increased by R133 million (3%).
- The May to June change (up by 5.2%) in imports of goods reflected increases mainly in:
- Machinery and electrical appliances increased by R986 million (8%);
- Plastics and rubber and articles thereof increased by R458 million (25%);
- Textile and textile articles increased by R417 million (37%);
- Original equipment components increased by R288 million (9%) and
- A decrease in Vehicles, aircraft and vessels by R1 442 million (-23%).
Trade highlights by world zone updating
The world zone results for May and June 2010 as given below are unaudited.
- Asia: The deficit increased from R2.9 billion in May to R5.2 billion in June 2010. Exports increased by R1.5 billion to R17.4 billion and imports increased by R3.8 billion to R22.6 billion.
- Europe: The deficit decreased from R5.1bn in May to R0.8 billion in June 2010. Exports increased by R2.4 billionto R15.5 billion and imports decreased by R2 billion to R16.3 billion.
- America: The deficit moved from R0.17 billion in May to a surplus of R0.54 billion in June 2010. Exports increased by R2bn to R7.3 billion and imports increased by R1.3 billion to R6.7 billion.
- Africa: The surplus increased from R3.2 billion in May to R5.4 in June 2010. Exports increased by R0.95 billion to R8.2 billion and imports decreased by R1.3 billion to R2.8 billion.
For more detail, see our Trade Data at: http://www.sars.gov.za/home.asp?pid=1306
Source: South African Revenue Service
