Import Tracker - Q2 2021

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. Overall trade improved in the second quarter of 2021 following an 18% decline in exports and a 26% decline in imports in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Total imports grew by about 28% to R328 billion in the year to the second quarter of 2021, while exports grew by about 71% to R491 billion. Although still slightly lower than reported in the second quarter of 2019, imports have returned to their general trend. In contrast, exports surged to a new high, driven by high mineral prices, including a more than R30 billion increase in ore export revenue between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2021. Compared against the second quarter of 2021, ore export revenue increased by about R37.7 billion. Exports will likely decline as mineral prices decline.