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MBABANE – For the period of January to August 2022, Eswatini contributed to the South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) E7.18 billion trade surplus.
This is according to SARS’s recent statement, which stated that the country’s revenue collector’s trade statistics for August 2022 recorded a preliminary trade balance surplus of E7.18 billion.
The statistics were stated to include trade data with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia.
“The year-to-date January 1 to August 31, 2022) preliminary trade balance surplus of R163.36 billion is a deterioration from the R325.06 billion trade balance surplus for the comparable period in 2021. Exports increased by 11.9 per cent year-on-year while imports increased by 44.9 per cent over the same period,” said SARS.
It was stated that the E7.18 billion preliminary trade balance surplus was attributable to exports of E175.37 billion and imports of E168.19 billion.
Exports
During this period, SARS said exports decreased by E1.83 billion (1.0 per cent), while imports increased by E15.80 billion (10.4 per cent) over the same period.
“Exports for the year-to-date increased by 11.8 per cent to R1 330.18 billion from R1 189.46 billion over the same period during 2021. Imports for the year-to-date of R1 166.82 billion were 35.0 per cent more than the R864.40 billion imports recorded during the same period in 2021.
According to OEC, the main products that SA exports to Eswatini are refined petroleum at US$80 million (E1 430 936 000), electricity at US$57 million (E1 019 026 050) and corn at US$36.5 million (E652 534 225). It was further stated that during the last 20 years, SA’s exports to Eswatini have increased at an annualised rate of 0.58 per cent, from US$1.02 billion (E21 433 920 000) in 2000 to US$1.14 billion (E20 352 328 800) in 2020.
“The cumulative trade balance surplus for 2022 is R163.36 billion. On a year-on-year basis, the R7.18 billion preliminary trade balance surplus for August 2022 was a deterioration from the R40.61 billion trade balance surplus recorded in August 2021. Exports of R175.37 billion were 11.9 per cent more than the R156.71 billion exports recorded in August 2021. Imports of R168.19 billion were 44.9 per cent more than the R116.10 billion imports recorded in August,” further stated SARS.