South Africa Logs Widest Trade Surplus in 5 Months

South Africa's trade surplus rose to ZAR 20.5 billion in August 2026, the largest since March, from a downwardly revised ZAR 18 billion in the prior month. Imports fell 7.8% to a five-month low of ZAR 161.3 billion, amid broad-based declines across the five key import categories. Lower purchases were seen for original equipment components (-20%); chemical products (-16%); vehicles & transport equipments (-8%); machinery & electronics (-5%) and mineral products (-4%). Meanwhile, exports dropped by 5.8% to ZAR 182 billion, reflecting reduced shipments of vegetable products (-9%); mineral products (-9%); precious metals and stones (-9%), particularly platinum group metals (PGMs), gold; and zinc ores and concentrates; and machinery & electronics (-3%).

South Africa recorded a trade surplus of ZAR 20.1 billion in July 2026, the largest since March, up from a revised ZAR 17.2 billion in the prior month. Exports rose by 0.8% month-over-month to ZAR 194 billion, as higher shipments of machinery & electronics (18%); mineral products (14%); vegetable products (12%) and vehicles & transport equipment (8%) were partly offset by a 21% decline in precious metals & stones. Overseas sales increased for Africa (8.6%), Europe (8.7%) and Oceania (6.6%) but fell to the Americas (-9%) and Asia (-2.3%). Meanwhile, imports fell by 0.8% to ZAR 173.8 billion, on reduced purchases of mineral products (-32%). Conversely, imports rose significantly for vehicles & transport equipment (28%); chemical products (14%); original equipment components (14%) and base metals (10%). By origin, imports from Africa dropped 30.8%, while those from Oceania and Asia fell 9.9% and 1.3%, respectively, contrasting with increases from the Americas (25.4%) and Europe (8.9%).

South Africa's trade surplus widened to ZAR 17.75 billion in June 2026 from an upwardly revised ZAR 4.44 billion in the previous month, as exports increased while imports declined. Exports rose 4.3% to ZAR 193.6 billion, driven by higher shipments of vehicles and transport equipment (16%), chemical products (6%), prepared foodstuffs (6%), and precious metals and stones (2%). Meanwhile, imports fell 2.9% to ZAR 175.8 billion, reflecting lower purchases of mineral products (-15%), vehicles and transport equipment (-12%), and original equipment components (-6%). Despite the monthly improvement, the trade surplus was smaller than the ZAR 20.96 billion surplus recorded in the same month a year earlier.