Imports, exports take dive

Merchandise imports and exports dropped sharply at the end of 2023 thanks to high oil prices, diminished commodity export receipts and increased congestion at South Africa’s ports.

The country’s cumulative merchandise trade surplus for 2023 decreased to R61.0 billion from R192.0 billion in 2022.

According to the SA Revenue Service, the value of merchandise imports as well as exports fell sharply at the end of 2023.

The latest trade statistics show goods imports dropped by 9% in December compared with November to reach R149.9 billion, while exports slumped 11.5%.

In the end, South Africa had a preliminary trade surplus of R14.1 billion at the end of 2023, compared to a downwardly revised merchandise trade surplus of R20.6 billion in November.

The biggest decreases in rand terms during December were recorded for vehicles and transport equipment, that declined by 18% compared to November; precious metals and stones, that declined by 16%; and mineral products, that decreased by 8%. These decreases coincided with the intense logistics backlogs at South Africa’s ports.

At the opposite end of the trade ledger, sizeable declines were recorded in December compared to November for vegetable products (-37%), original equipment components (-34%) and mineral imports (-6%), reflecting the impact of lower oil prices at the time.

In terms of trade partners, SA logged a R28.7 billion merchandise trade surplus in relation to the African continent during December, while recording a R1.2 billion trade deficit with Europe. SA registered a trade shortfall of R18.5 billion with Asia.

Jee-A van der Linde, senior economist at Oxford Economics Africa, said export flows for December 2023 were 0.9% higher compared to the R162.4 billion recorded in December 2022 on an annual basis, while imports were 5.0% lower than the R157.8 billion in December 2022.

“In addition, SA’s cumulative merchandise trade balance came in at R61 billion for 2023, markedly weaker than the R192 billion trade surplus in 2022.”