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TIPS Import Tracker (23)

The Import Tracker is a quarterly analysis of import trends. The reports provide an overview of import patterns and look at the causes of surges in imports, and their likely impact on industry. 

 

South Africa maintained a trade surplus in the third quarter of 2023, at R41 billion, up from R10 billion in the second quarter of 2023, but lower than the R53 billion from the third quarter of 2022. Exports declined by R41 billion to R529 billion in the year to the…
South Africa’s trade balance grew to a surplus of R10 billion in the second quarter of 2023, up from a deficit of R5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2023, but lower than the surplus of R75.5 billion in the first quarter 2022. Second quarter exports show higher growth compared…
South Africa’s first quarter trade balance declined to a deficit for the first time since the first quarter of 2019, driven in part by a decline in exports, while imports remained relatively high, even with a R5 billion quarter-on-quarter decline. In all, exports declined by R7 billion to R483 billion in…
South Africa’s trade surplus declined to R7.4 billion in the year to the fourth quarter of 2022, from R100.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic exports declined, falling by 3% to R495 billion year-on-year. Over the same period,…
South Africa’s trade surplus declined to about R51 billion in the year to the third quarter of 2022, from about R109.3 billion in the third quarter of 2021. Although exports have continued to grow, they have done so at a lower rate than during the COVID-driven rise in the price…
Following three consecutive quarters of decline, South Africa’s trade surplus increased from R61.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022 to R71.1 billion in the second quarter of 2022. Still, this surplus is about 56% lower the peak of R160.1 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Exports declined by about 0.2%…
South Africa’s trade surplus declined for the third consecutive term to R61.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022, representing the lowest trade surplus since mineral prices began to rise in 2020 largely as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Imports, which declined to their lowest level since the early…
South Africa had a trade surplus of R93.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, down from R101 billion in the third quarter of 2021. Year-on-year, imports increased by about 17% to R381 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, while exports increased by about 9% to R475 billion in…
South Africa continued to maintain a strong trade balance in the third quarter of 2021, with a surplus of R102 billion, down 11% from the third quarter of 2020. High mineral prices continue to be the main driver for the high surplus, although these prices are beginning to fall. In…
South Africa maintained a strong trade balance in the second quarter of 2021, with a surplus of R163 billion, a substantial increase from the roughly R30 billion reported in the second quarter of 2020. The large surplus is mainly the outcome of a surge in mineral prices for ores and platinum.…
The trade balance continued to decline in the first quarter of 2021, down to R96 billion from R103 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020. But year-on-year, the surplus is up 165%. This marks the second consecutive year of a first quarter trade surplus. Overall , South Africa has had a first…
Although declining slightly compared to the third quarter of 2020, South Africa maintained a high trade surplus in the fourth quarter of 2020, at R103 billion. Year-on-year, this marks a more than 300% increase in the trade surplus compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. The surplus is the result…
South Africa had a trade surplus of R109 billion in the third quarter of 2020, up from R6 billion in the third quarter of 2019. In constant 2020 Rand, this is the highest trade surplus South Africa has had in the past decade. The high surplus appears to be the…
South Africa had a trade surplus of R30 billion in the second quarter of 2020, up from R4 billion in the second quarter of 2019. Generally, South African trade performs better in the second quarter of the year, compared to the first quarter. With the exception of 2012 to 2014, there…
South Africa had a trade surplus of R35 billion in the first quarter of 2020, up from a trade deficit of R4 billion in the first quarter of 2019. With the exception of the first quarter of 2017, South Africa has had a trade deficit in the first quarter of…
This fourth quarter report of the Import Tracker is in two sections. The first section focuses on import trends for the fourth quarter of 2019, similar to previous reports. The second section of the report provides a brief review of some of the major trends for 2019. The review focuses…
The trade balance grew for the second consecutive quarter, from R3 billion in the second quarter of 2019 to R6 billion in the third quarter of 2019. Nevertheless, both imports and exports show year-on-year declines, at 4% for imports from R351 billion in the third quarter of 2018 to R337 billion in the third…
The trade balance grew in the second quarter of 2019. As at the end of the quarter, the trade surplus was R3 billion. Generally, the second quarter tends to reflect a trade surplus. With the exception of the second quarters between 2012 and 2014, there has been a second quarter…
The trade balance declined in the first quarter of 2019. At the end of the quarter, the deficit was R0.3 billion. With the exception of the first quarter of 2017, South Africa has seen a trade deficit in the first quarter for the 10 years between 2010 and 2019.  
The trade balance declined in the fourth quarter of 2018, however, although it fell there was still a trade surplus. During the same period, imports grew by 7,8% while exports saw a minimal growth of 1,2%.
Quarter 3 2018 saw a continued narrowing of the trade balance, with a very slim surplus of 0,3%. Year-on-year import growth of 12,8% was more than double export growth of 6% over the same period.Exports were buoyed by strong growth by the automotive sector, and iron and steel; as well…
Quarter 2 2018 continued a trend of recovery in trade volumes. 2018 also featured a trade surplus for the quarter, although the 5% surplus was lower than the previous two years - 8% in 2017 and 10% in 2016.
Quarter 1 2018 marked the first trade deficit since Quarter 1 2016, but nevertheless featured a continued recovery in general trade volumes following a contraction in trade after the end of the commodity super cycle.