Sugar exports increase by 3.5%
MBABANE – Exports of sugar and sugar products grew by 3.5 per cent on a month-on-month and 31.14 per cent year-on-year to total E671.6 million.
The exports of sugar and sugar products were among the Eswatini¶s main export commodities in )ebruary. $ccording to the Recent Economic Developments RED report from the &entral %anN of Eswatini &%E , soft drinN concentrates exports amounted to E1.670 billion in the month, which was flat month-on-month and an increase of 28.5 per cent, year-on-year.
Textile and textile apparel exports, which were E256.6 million in the month, were up by 45.0 per cent month-on-month and down by 4.01 per cent year-on-year. Exports of wood and wood articles which rose by 11.6 per cent when compared to the preceding month and by 16.3 per cent when compared to the same month in 2023 were E203.1 million in )ebruary 2024. Leading imports performed as follows in the second month of the year Energy products imports amounted to E535.9 million, recording a 5.0 per cent month-onmonth surge and an increase of 13.4 per cent, year-on-year.
Totalled
,mports of animal and vegetable products totalled E304.6 million in )ebruary 2024, which was higher both month-on-month and yearon-year by 7.7 and 31.5 per cent, respectively.
0achinery and electrical eTuipment imports registered E378.1 million in the month, growing by 43.4 per cent month-on-month and by 31.9 per cent year-on-year. ,mports of textile and textile apparel totalled E264.5 million in )ebruary 2024, reflecting an increase of 23.9 per cent monthon-month and a drop of 13.3 per cent year-on-year.
9ehicles imported in the month were valued at E155.2 million, which was 5.6 per cent lower compared to January 2024 and 31.5 per cent higher compared to )ebruary 2023. ,t is worth noting that in the second month of the year, the country recorded a trade surplus of E91.7 million, compared to a higher surplus of E474.9 million in the preceding month. Exports were up in )ebruary 2024, totalling E3.294 billion compared to E3.208 billion in January 2024, reflecting a yearon-year increase of 28.5 per cent. ,t was reported that imports also increased in the month under review, amounting to E3.203 billion from E2.733 billion in the previous month, and higher year-on-year by 24.2 per cent.