Blog: 22 February 2018 (South Africa's international trade for 2017)
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In today's blog we take a look at South Africa's trade international trade numbers for the the year of 2017. In particular we will take a look at the products imported and exported to various regions across the globe.
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South Africa's Exports in 2017
The animated graphic below shows the cumulative trade in South Africa's exports for 2017 per product category and region. We will highlight a few of the main numbers for SA's exports for 2017 below the graphic.
The first thing readers would notice would be the massive red spike with a value for 2017 of well over R180billion. The main contributor to this are coal exports to India (which is part of Asia), as well as exports of Iron ore to China. These two combined makes up a significant chunk of South Africa's exports not only to Asia, but to overall exports in South Africa. The mineral product exports to Asia accounted for roughly 17% of South Africa's total exports for 2017.
Another big export from South Africa is R72billion in vehicles being exported to Europe. This is largely due to the fact that South Africa manufactures RHD vehicles for the likes of VW, Mercedes and BMW and then exports these cars to the UK, where RHD vehicles are used. The graphic above also highlights part of South Africa's problem when it comes to its exports. It is highly concentrated. (I.e massive value of exports takes places in a select few commodities). This shows a lack of diversification in South Africa's manufacturing and production industries and point to the fact that SA is largely dependent on the exports of a select few items such as coal, iron ore, vehicle manufacturing and agricultural items such as fresh fruit and vegetables.
Another big export from South Africa is R72billion in vehicles being exported to Europe. This is largely due to the fact that South Africa manufactures RHD vehicles for the likes of VW, Mercedes and BMW and then exports these cars to the UK, where RHD vehicles are used. The graphic above also highlights part of South Africa's problem when it comes to its exports. It is highly concentrated. (I.e massive value of exports takes places in a select few commodities). This shows a lack of diversification in South Africa's manufacturing and production industries and point to the fact that SA is largely dependent on the exports of a select few items such as coal, iron ore, vehicle manufacturing and agricultural items such as fresh fruit and vegetables.
South Africa's imports for 2017
While we mentioned that South Africas exports are highly clustered, the same is true for imports but not nearly to the same extent as our exports. The graphic below shows a lot more cases of relatively high bars contributing to what South Africa imports. I.e the spread of the bars are far more even than it is for our exports.
The big item being imported into South Africa is that of Machinery and equipment from Asia (R141billion). Sadly South Africa does not have the capacity or know how to build complex machinery cost effectively to compete with that of China and Europe (especially complex machinery being imported from Germany and France).
The big chunk of mineral product imports from Asia (R89billion) is mainly made up by crude petroleum imports from the middle east which in this case is grouped under Asia. One will see Africa makes a sizeable contribution to South Africa's mineral products imports too (R57billion). This is due to massive crude oil imports from Nigeria and Angola.
Equipment components to the value of R54billion (from Europe) and R29.9billion from Asia is mainly motor vehicle parts used in the assembly lines in South Africa.
The big chunk of mineral product imports from Asia (R89billion) is mainly made up by crude petroleum imports from the middle east which in this case is grouped under Asia. One will see Africa makes a sizeable contribution to South Africa's mineral products imports too (R57billion). This is due to massive crude oil imports from Nigeria and Angola.
Equipment components to the value of R54billion (from Europe) and R29.9billion from Asia is mainly motor vehicle parts used in the assembly lines in South Africa.
The below pie charts gives a breakdown of Total Exports out of South Africa and Total Imports into South Africa per region and provides the relative contribution to SA's exports and imports for 2017.
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Imports |
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Asia (incl middle east) made up 34.8% of South Africa's total exports, with Africa making up 28.4% of SA's total exports. This is largely to BLNS countries (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland). Europe comes in with just over a quarter of SA's total exports (25.6%). The Americas (including all South American and North American countries and surrounding islands) only made up 9.8% of South Africa's exports. For the size of the Americas it is rather surprising that this region contributes so little to South Africa's exports. Hopefully South African exporters are looking to explore these markets and get a foot in the door into these markets as it does look like a relatively untapped market for our export goods.
When looking at South Africa's imports from various regions, it is clear that this is totally dominated by goods coming from the Asia region, with almost 45% of imported goods coming from this region. Europe being the 2nd biggest region SA's imports are coming from (around 32.6%) of all SA imports coming from Europe.
While Africa made up a large chunk of SA's exports, for SA imports Africa makes up just over 10%, And the majority if that being oil from Nigeria and Angola. Highlighting the fact that Africa as a continent is not producing enough goods or enough variety of goods and competitive prices to export to countries such as South Africa. If they are, the question has to be asked why South Africa as one of Africa's biggest economies are not supporting their African peers?
Disappointing again is the fact that the Americas makes up such a small percentage of South Africa's total exports. A large number of items are produced in the Americas, especially North America and it is surprisng to see the small contribution this region is making up of South Africa's total trade.
While Africa made up a large chunk of SA's exports, for SA imports Africa makes up just over 10%, And the majority if that being oil from Nigeria and Angola. Highlighting the fact that Africa as a continent is not producing enough goods or enough variety of goods and competitive prices to export to countries such as South Africa. If they are, the question has to be asked why South Africa as one of Africa's biggest economies are not supporting their African peers?
Disappointing again is the fact that the Americas makes up such a small percentage of South Africa's total exports. A large number of items are produced in the Americas, especially North America and it is surprisng to see the small contribution this region is making up of South Africa's total trade.
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