South Africa recorded a preliminary trade balance surplus of R6.9 billion in March 2023, according to the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

When including trade with Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia (BELN), exports totalled R192.2 billion while imports totalled R185.3 billion.

However, SARS said that the year-to-date (01 January to 31 March 2023) preliminary trade deficit of R6.2 billion marks a massive decline from the R61.9 billion surplus recorded over the same period in 2022.

The year-to-date deficit is mainly due to an R22.7 billion trade deficit recorded in January 2023, as a surplus of R10.7 billion was recorded in February – brought down from R16.1 billion due to the ongoing Vouchers of Correction.

March’s export flows of R192.2 billion were 3.2% higher than March 2022’s R186.3 billion.

Imports, on the other hand, grew from R141.5 billion in March 2022 to R185.3 billion over the current period, marking a 30.9% increase.

On a month-to-month basis, exports grew by 26.9% (R40.8 billion) from R151.4 billion in February.

Imports also grew by R44.6 billion (31.7%) from the R140.7 billion recorded in February.

SARS said that the increase in export flows in March was driven by gold, while the increase in the value of imports was due to higher importation of crude and petroleum oils.

Below are the top 5 export and import sections for February and March 2023:

China was South Africa’s biggest trade partner for March, making up 10.5% of total exports and 18.5% of imports.

The United States (7.5%) was South Africa’s second-biggest export market, with Germany (6.5%), Japan (6.2%), and the Netherlands (4.8%) completing the top 5.

South Africa imported the second-largest amount of goods from Germany (8.0%). The United States (7.6%), India (6.9%), and Nigeria (4.3%) were also part of the top 5 countries that South Africa imported from.

Trade without BELN

Interestingly, when excluding trade with BELN for March 2023, South Africa recorded a preliminary trade balance deficit of R5.3 billion.

In this case, export flows totalled R174.7 billion whilst imports totalled R180.0 billion.

The cumulative trade balance deficit for 2023 stands at R35.1 billion, compared to the R34.0 billion trade balance surplus over the same period in 2022.

On a month-to-month basis, exports grew by R37.9 billion (27.7%) while imports grew by R44.4 billion (32.7%)

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