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The South African Revenue Service (SARS) today releases trade statistics for December 2014 that recorded a trade surplus of R6.85 billion. This figure includes trade data with Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (BLNS). 

Summary  
The R6.85 billion surplus for December 2014 is due to exports of R87.49 billion and imports of R80.64 billion. Exports increased from November to December by R3.23 billion (3.8%) and imports decreased from November to December by R8.89 billion (9.9%).

The cumulative deficit for 2014 is R95.30 billion compared to R71.36 billion in 2013.

Trade highlights by category

The month-on-month export movements:

R’ million
Section: Including BLNS:
Mineral Products + R4 522 + 24.9%
Vegetable Products + R1 111 + 46.9%
Wood Pulp & Paper + R 347 + 24.8%
Machinery & Electronics -  R 348 - 4.0%
Vehicles & Transport Equipment - R2 027 - 19.0%

The month-on-month import movements:

R’ million
Section: Including BLNS:
Machinery & Electronics - R2 982  - 13.1%
Mineral Products - R1 416 - 7.4%
Equipment  Components - R1 157 - 21.4%
Chemical Products - R1 125 - 12.5%
Vehicles & Transport Equipment + R 991 + 12.8%

Trade highlights by world zone 
 
The world zone results for December 2014 are given below. 

Africa: 
Exports: R23 673 million – this is a decrease of R5 273 million from November 2014
Imports: R10 054 million – this is a decrease of R1 267 million from November 2014
Trade surplus: R13 619 million.
This is a 22.7% decrease in comparison to the R17 624 million surplus recorded in November 2014.

America: 
Exports: R9 139 million – this is an increase of R1 584 million from November 2014
Imports: R8 313 million – this is a decrease of R 962 million from November 2014
Trade surplus: R 827 million
This is an improvement to the R1 719 million deficit recorded in November 2014.

Asia: 
Exports: R28 489 million – this is an increase of R3 878 million from November 2014
Imports:  R37 428 million – this is a decrease of R3 515 million from November 2014
Trade deficit: R8 939 million
This is a 45.3% decrease in comparison to the R16 332 million deficit recorded in November 2014.

Europe: 
Exports: R19 368 million ¬– this is an increase of R2 216 million from November 2014
Imports: R23 630 million – this is a decrease of R3 292 million from November 2014
Trade deficit: R4 262 million
This is a 56.4% decrease in comparison to the R9 770 million deficit recorded in November 2014.

Oceania:   
Exports:  R1 309 million ¬ – this is an increase of R 253 million from November 2014
Imports:   R1 179 million – this is an increase of R 235 million from November 2014
Trade surplus: R 131 million
This is a 15.9% increase in comparison to the R 113 million surplus recorded in November 2014

Excluding BLNS

The trade data excluding BLNS for December 2014 recorded a trade deficit of R0.68 billion.
 
Summary  
The R0.68 billion deficit for December 2014 is as a result of exports of R77.72 billion and imports of R78.40 billion. Exports increased from November to December by R6.85 billion (9.7%) and imports decreased from November to December by R8.34 billion (9.6%).

The cumulative deficit for 2014 is R198.92 billion compared to R158.18 billion in 2013.

Trade highlights by category

The month-on-month export movements:

R’ million
Section: Excluding BLNS:
Mineral Products + R4 862 + 30.3%
Precious Metals & Stones + R1 192  + 8.8%
Vegetable Products + R1 105 + 61.4%
Base Metals + R 508  + 5.2%
Vehicle & Transport Equipment - R1 644 - 18.1%

The month-on-month import movements:

R’ million
Section: Excluding BLNS:
Machinery & Electronics - R2 784  - 12.4%
Mineral Products - R1 403 - 7.4%
Equipment Components - R1 157 - 21.4%
Chemical Products - R 989 - 12.1%
Vehicle & Transport Equipment + R 997 + 12.9%

Trade highlights by world zone 
The world zone results from November 2014 to December 2014 are given below. 

Africa: 
Exports: R13 906 million – this is a decrease of R1 659 million from November 2014
Imports: R7 819 million – this is a decrease of R 713 million from November 2014
Trade surplus: R6 087 million
This is a 13.5% decrease in comparison to the R7 034 million surplus recorded in November 2014.

SA Trade Release Table (including BLNS)

Issued by SARS