The value of South Africa’s exports to China are worth more than that of the next two trading partners combined.According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), SA exports to China are worth around 23.4 billion, followed by the United States ($10.9bn), Germany ($9.96bn), India ($9.14bn), and Japan ($8.85bn).Trade with China is close to being balanced, with imports from China totalling 23.5bn in 2022.Chinese exports to South Africa have increased by 8.99% a year, from $15.3bn in 2017 to $23.5bn in 2022.SA exports to China grew by 2.78% a year over the same period, from $17.8bn in 2017 to $23.4bn in 2022.In July this year, the top exports from China to SA were refined petroleum, electrical batteries, cell phones, electrical transformers, and cars.SA’s top exports to China were gold, iron ore, chromium ore, manganese ore and ferroalloys.Trade with Japan, SA’s next-biggest trading partner in the region, declined in 2023.United Nations COMTRADE statistics show that the value of SA exports to Japan dropped from $10bn in 2022 to $7.2bn in 2023. SA imports from Japan dropped from $2.83bn to $2.7bn, which is nearly half the $4.6bn they were in 2012. Thailand is the next-biggest trade partner, with Thai exports growing by 0.24% a year, from $2.33bn in 2017 to $2.36bn in 2022.Over the same period, SA exports to Thailand dropped by 2.1% a year from $837m.Thailand’s main exports to SA are motor vehicles, parts and accessories, rice and combustion engines, and SA’s acyclic hydrocarbons, gold and raw aluminium. In contrast, trade with South Korea is growing.South Korean exports to South Africa grew at an annualised rate of 3.64%, from $1.04bn in 2017 to $1.25bn in 2022.SA exports to South Korea grew by 6.39% a year, from $2.12bn to $2.89bn over the same period.South Korea’s main exports are refined petroleum, cars and aluminium plating, while SA’s are coal, iron ore and platinum.Malaysia is another growing market, with SA imports increasing by 14.1% a year, from $857m in 2017 to $1.66bn in 2022.SA exports to Malaysia increased at an annualised rate of 3.19%, from $778m to $940m over the same period.Malaysia’s main exports were refined petroleum, palm oil and raw zinc, while SA exported coal, manganese ore and soybeans. ER
