South Africa Balance of Trade

Last Release

Feb 29, 2024

Actual

14,042.92

Units In

ZAR Million

-9,688.27

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Apr 30, 2024

Time to Release

29 Days 12 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
53,829.82 Mar 2021	-36,052.2 Apr 2020	1,339.37 ZAR Million	1957-2024	South African Revenue Service

In 2017, South Africa recorded the biggest trade deficits with China, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Thailand, France, Nigeria, Italy and Brazil and the biggest trade surpluses with Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Belgium and Netherlands.

Latest Updates

South Africa recorded a trade surplus of ZAR 14 billion in February 2024, compared to an upwardly revised deficit of ZAR 9.7 billion a month before and surpassing market forecasts of a ZAR 8.6 billion surplus. Exports advanced by 12.4% over a month to ZAR 161.85 billion, with shipments of vehicles & transport equipment jumping by a staggering 98%. Exports also increased significantly for vegetable products (+34%) and machinery & electronics (+34%), but fell for precious metals & stones (-9%) and mineral products (-6%). Conversely, imports dropped by 3.8% to ZAR 147.81 billion, as purchases decreased for chemical products (-9%); machinery & electronics (-8%); vehicles & transport equipment (-9%) and original equipment components (-9%).