China trails Germany as top import source

ALAN PEAT IN THE latest figures from the department of trade and industry (dti) SA’s top 5 export countries in the January to July period were Japan, UK, US, Germany and the Netherlands. Total exports in the first seven months of this year were R82.4-billion, a 13.6% increase over the R72.5-bn recorded for the same period last year. However, imports from our top 5 source countries – Germany, China, US, Japan and Saudi Arabia (almost all oil) – bumped up by a whacking 20.7%, from R82.8-bn in January-July 2005 to R100-bn in the same period this year.