blog South Africa

The next blog is one about sunny South Africa.

More precisely about the South African trading environment.

Despite all economic sanctions, South Africa is a country with an open economy.
That means that their foreign trade has a percentage between 50-60% of GDP, which is very high.

The main exports of Africa are mostly linked to the mining and the agricultural sector.
Especially gold is still South Africa’s largest exchange earner, although it has dropped a lot from 50% in the 80’s to just over 25% at this moment. The other big export earnings are diamonds, coal, manganese and iron ore, which are good for about 24% of the export figures.
At the third place we have steel, counting for 15% of South Africa’s physical export volume.

If we go deeper into the agricultural sector, we have the fresh fruits, like citrus.
Also wool and grains (mostly maize) are together good for about 9% of physical export.

That’s about the same percentage as manufactured engineering products.

The rest of the export are chemicals and related products.

For what regards the import, the most imported goods are capital goods and industrial inputs, which are good for 80% of the import.
This is very strange if you know that Africa is a country that is rich in mineral wealth,  and one of the biggest producers of base metal and other metal products.
But some special minerals and metals, are not found locally, so they have to import them.
Beside machines and transport equipment, chemicals are also a very important import sector.

	January to December 1998				% Change over previous year
Section	Imports	%age	Exports	%age	Imports	Exports
Live Animals, animal products	1,101.2	1%	1,949.3	1%	-25%	25%
Vegetable Products	2,882.5	2%	5,592.1	4%	0%	-4%
Edible fats and oils	1,415.5	1%	276,195,782	0%	18%	8%
Prepared foodstuffs, beverages & tobacco	3,179.6	2%	5,929.5	4%	3%	8%
Mineral products	12,928.8	9%	19,024.1	13%	-23%	2%
Chemicals	15,648.8	11%	9,281.2	6%	13%	3%
Plastics & rubber & articles thereof	5,836.7	4%	3,062.6	2%	8%	56%
Hides, skins & leather products	820.6	1%	1,164.2	1%	2%	-8%
Wood and articles thereof	877.9	1%	1,417.8	1%	-10%	26%
Pulp, paper & paper products	3,224.6	2%	4,147.6	3%	7%	17%
Textiles & textile articles	5,213.5	4%	3,221.2	2%	-96%	-7%
Footwear, headgear, umbrellas etc	1,061.3	1%	143.4	0%	2%	-6%
Articles of stone, cement, asbestos, mica, ceramics and glass	1,997.4	1%	928.7	1%	16%	16%
Precious & semi-precious stones & metals	2,172.6	2%	35,135.3	24%	3%	-16%
Base metals & articles thereof	6,581.7	5%	22,684.3	15%	18%	6%
Machinery & mechanical appliances, electrical equipment	51,888.0	36%	10,271.1	7%	26%	17%
Vehicles, aircraft, vessels & transport equipment	8,822.2	6%	8,023.6	5%	9%	21%
High precision instruments and apparatus	5,677,526,212	4%	829.4	1%	18%	4%
Miscellaneous manufactures	2,315.2	2%	2,717.6	2%	27%	19%
Works of art	58,715.8	0%	93.0	0%	-4%	84%
Unclassified	274.5	0%	12,078.2	8%	8%	35%
OEM	9,377.4	7%	23.7	0%	4%	89%
TOTAL	143,356.1	100%	147,994.0	100%	10%	3%

http://www.mbendi.com/import/sa/succeed_sa_market.htm