South Africa maintained a trade surplus in the fourth quarter of 2024. At R64 billion, the surplus was more than double the surplus from the fourth quarter 2023, which amounted to R22 billion, in real terms. The surplus was also higher than the third quarter of 2024, which amounted to R35 billion. Nevertheless, overall trade declined in the year to the fourth quarter of 2024, with exports declining by 3% to R519 billion, and imports declining by 11% to R455 billion in the same period. The decline in imports was mainly due to a decline in imports of petroleum products, with diesel and crude oil imports declining by R24 billion and R12 billion respectively.
South Africa maintained a trade surplus, in real terms, with the US in all but two of the last 15 years. For the most part, this surplus has been buoyed by exports of platinum group metals like palladium, rhodium and platinum. In constant 2024 Rand, imports from the US grew from R88 billion in 2010 to R128 billion in 2024. Over the same period, exports grew from R106 billion to R151 billion (see Graph 13). Exports particularly surged from 2020 and remained high (although on a downward trend) after 2021, following a surge in global mineral prices sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.