Trade
South Africa's
Merchandise Exports and Imports
South African Trade by Country -
South Africa has trading relationships
with over two hundred countries
and territories. Export, import
and trade balance figures for the
last three years are given in each
case.
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South African Trade by Commodity
- Export, import and trade balance
figures for the last three years
are given for different commodity
groups. Note that the category of
unclassified goods (99) includes
trade in platinum.
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Traded goods are classified under
a detailed code - the Harmonised
System. The first six digits of
the "HS" number attached
to any commodity are fixed by international
agreement. Additional digits, sub-dividing
the commodity further, may be specified
differently between countries. Some
chapter and commodity-group tiltles
are very long. Please make use of
the numbers and refer to the detailed
HS tables to interpret the results.
Only summary headings can be included
in the graphs and table descriptions.
- HS Chapter titles
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South African Trade by Major Sector
- the division of traded goods between
the manufacturing, mining and agricultural
sectors provides a picture of important
structural changes in the SA economy
over the last decade. The proportion
of manufactured goods in exports
has increased significantly - as
more of South Africa's raw materials
are processed before being exported.
The proportion of manufactured goods
in imports has fluctuated at levels
between 80% and 90%.
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South African Trade by degree of
processing - one of the main aims
of South African manufacturing policy
is to increase the amount of value
added to our exports before they
leave our shores. This means more
jobs in South African factories
and higher revenue from sales. While
the trade balance is strongly against
manufactured products, it shows
signs of a reduction since the late-1990's.
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South African Trade in Manufactured
Goods by Industry (SIC4 codes) -
exports, imports and trade balance
by industry provides a different
perspective on trade from that by
commodity.
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South African Trade in High Tech
Goods by Industry (SIC4 codes) -
while exports are an increasing
proportion of manufactured goods,
South African industry exports and
produces a more limited range of
high tech goods. This is an area
of focus in the proposed Integrated
Manufacturing Strategy.
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Balance
of Payments
The balance of payments is a record
of all the transactions between
SA and the rest of the world. It
records all flows of money in and
out of the SA. These flows might
result from the sale of exports
(an inflow or credit) or from SA
purchasing imports from overseas
(an outflow or debit). They might
also arise from other countries
investing in country (inward investment
- a credit), or from South African
companies investing abroad (a debit).
All flows of money are added together
and grouped according to their type.
The overall account is then called
the balance of payments - principally
because the total of outflows must
be equivalent to the total of inflows.
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Exchange Rates of the Rand
Annual Average Exchange Rates
US
dollar
UK
pound
Euro
To see the latest exchange rates,
click
here.
Effective
Exchange Rates
It is useful to refer to a weighted
average exchange rate of the rand
to judge the currency's performance
against SA's major trading partners.
The Effective Exchange Rate is based
on trade in and consumption of manufactured
goods between South Africa and its
fourteen most important trading
partners (weights of four major
currencies in brackets): Euro (35.7),
US dollar (15.15), British pound
(14.91), Japanese yen (10.26). The
weighted average is expressed as
and index, 1995=100.
Nominal effective exchange rate
of the rand
Real
effective exchange rate of the rand
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