South Africa Trade Surplus Narrows in March

South Africa's trade surplus shrank to ZAR 31.9 billion in March 2026 from a downwardly revised ZAR 35.9 billion in the prior month, as imports were stronger than exports. Purchases climbed by 18.4% month-over-month to ZAR 156 billion, driven by mineral products (11%); chemical products (20%); machinery & electronics (15%); vehicles & transport equipment (24%) and original equipment components (39%). Meanwhile, exports grew 12.1% to ZAR 188 billion, mainly boosted by sales of mineral products (29%); chemical products (28%); vehicles & transport equipment (17%) and machinery & electronics (16%).

South Africa recorded a trade surplus of ZAR 36.9 billion in February 2026, significantly higher than the downwardly revised ZAR 8.5 billion posted in January. Exports climbed by 8.2% month-over-month to ZAR 168.1 billion, boosted by shipments of vehicles & transport equipment (+55%); machinery & electronics (+22%) and base metals (+16%). Overseas sales rose primarily to Oceania (+53.4%), the Americas (+33.1%) and Africa (+17.5%), but declined for Asia (-0.4%). Conversely, imports slipped by 10.7% to a four-year low of ZAR 131.2 billion, reflecting widespread declines across key categories. Purchases fell significantly for vehicles & transport equipment (-2.5%); base metals (-18%); machinery & electronics (-14%); chemical products (-10%) and original equipment components (-9%). Imports decreased mostly from the Americas (-22.5%), Europe (-18.5%) and Oceania (-17.3%), and, to a lesser extent, Asia (-5.9%) and Africa (-4.7%).

South Africa's trade surplus fell to ZAR 9.3 billion in January 2026 from the downwardly revised ZAR 22.4 billion in the prior month. It was the smallest trade surplus in five months, as exports slipped by 4.7% over a month to a one-year low of ZAR 155.8 billion. Lower shipments for machinery & electronics (-25%), vehicles & transport equipment (-24%) and chemical products (-24%) outweighed increases observed for vegetable products (29%) and precious metals & stones (11%). Overseas sales declined to Oceania (-42%), Africa (-18.3%), the Americas (-10.9%), Europe (-3.3%) and Asia (-1.5%). Conversely, imports rose by 3.9% to ZAR 146.5 billion, driven by purchases of base metals (30%); original equipment components (21%); vehicles & transport equipment (15%) and mineral products (5%), offsetting a 21% drop in prepared foodstuffs. Imports increased from Africa (45%), the Americas (20%), Oceania (11.9%) and Europe (11.6%), but slipped from Asia (-7.7%).