Here at ForexPeople, we are experts when it comes to forex. We pride ourselves on our ability to offer import/export businesses only the very best exchange rates through our swift and simple services. We know how tough it can be to run an import/export business so we offer our import/export business clients low bank fees and help with forex admin. We keep a constant eye on the exchange rates and will inform you when the rates are in your favour. We thought it might be interesting to look at the top 10 biggest commodities that South Africa has been importing and exporting in the past year.
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According to ‘World’s Top Exports’ South Africa imported 74.7 billion US dollars’ worth of products from around the world in 2016. The majority of those imported goods came from Asian countries. The top commodity that South Africa imported was machinery, spending $10.2 billion on this sector. A close second was mineral fuels (which included oil as well)—South Africa spent $10 billion on importing mineral fuels (mineral fuels made up 13.4% of South Africa’s imported goods).
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Electrical equipment came third on the list of the most imported commodities. South Africa imported 8.1 billion dollars’ of this commodity, an aproximate 10.8% of total imports. Number four was vehicles—South Africa spent $5.8 billion on importing vehicles (7.7% of overall imports) and of this 43% of this amount was made up of cars. Plastics and plastic articles made up 3% of all the goods that were imported into South Africa.
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2.7% of all of South Africa’s imported goods were optical, technical, and medical apparatus which translated to $2 billion being spent on importing these supplies. A close competitor for sixth place was pharmaceuticals at 2.5% (i.e. $1.9 billion was spent on importing pharmaceuticals).
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Interestingly, South Africa spent $1.4 billion on importing cereals into South Africa (this translates to 1.8% of imported goods). South Africa spent the same amount on importing chemical goods. Finally, at number 10, South Africa spent $1.2 billion dollars on organic chemicals which made up 1.6% of all imported goods.
However, South Africa has a lot to offer in terms of exports as well and, according to ‘World’s Top Exports,’ it managed to export 74.1 billion dollars’ worth of goods all over the world in 2016. Exporting goods accounts for 10.1% of the economic output in South Africa. South Africa exports 30% of its goods to Asian importers and 24.4% to European importers.
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In 2016, South Africa exported $12 billion dollars’ worth of gems and precious metals (16.2% of all exports). This made gems and precious metals South Africa’s most exported commodity. Interestingly, vehicles sit in second place with 9.2 billion dollars’ worth of these being exported. 7.6 billion dollars’ worth of ores, slag, and ash were exported out of South Africa, as well as 7.1 billion dollars’ worth of mineral fuels (which also included oil). 5.3 billion dollars’ worth of iron and steel were also exported from South Africa (7.1% of exports). Machinery (including computers) made up 7% of South Africa’s exports, and 5.2 billion dollars’ worth of machinery was exported in 2016.
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Interestingly, South Africa exports 2.9 billion dollars’ worth of fruits and nuts overseas (which makes up 3.9% of the total goods exported by South Africa).1.8 billion dollars’ worth of electrical machinery and equipment was exported out of South Africa (2.5% of all exports) and 2% of South Africa’s exported products was aluminium—in 2016 South Africa exported $1.5 billion dollars’ worth of aluminium. And finally, at number ten on the list, beverages, spirits, and vinegar made up 1.6% of all of South Africa’s exported goods. 1.2 billion dollars’ worth of beverages, spirits, and vinegar was exported in 2016.
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We hope you’ve found this summary of South Africa’s imports and exports interesting. If you would like to learn more about how ForexPeople can help your import/export business, please visit our site at this link.
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