China is by far South Africa’s biggest supplier of finished goods – with the country importing $22 billion worth of Chinese goods in 2023.Although slightly down from the $24bn Chinese imports in 2022, it nearly eclipses the next three major suppliers of imports combined – Germany ($10bn), India ($8bn) and the USA ($7bn), according to UN Comtrade figures.Chinese imports have been growing steadily for the past decade, with the biggest increments being nearly $5bn from $15bn in 2020 to $21bn in 2021, and by $3bn to $24bn in 2022. Indian imports have shown the second-biggest growth, almost doubling from $3.5bn in 2020 to $8bn in 2023.In 2023, the main imports from China were electrical and electronic equipment ($7.7bn), machinery ($4bn), vehicles ($1bn) and iron and steel ($623 million).The main imports from India were mineral fuels and oils ($2.6bn), vehicles ($1.6bn), pharmaceutical products ($600m) and machinery ($ 4 87 m). Vehicles and machinery were top imports from the USA, at $1.3bn each, followed by mineral fuels ($1bn), and electrical and electronic equipment ($6 0 0 m).With the halving of South Africa’s oil refining capacity since 2020, the largest import category in 2023 was mineral fuels, oils, and distillation products, at around $22bn, or 21% of total imports.This is followed by electrical and electronic equipment ($12.3bn), commodities not specified according to kind ($9bn), vehicles ($8.4bn), plastics ($2.6bn) and pharmaceutical products ($2 .4 bn).Imports declined between 2022 and 2023 due to reduced demand for goods such as refined petroleum and electric batteries. On a country basis, imports from China dropped by about 22%, while those from the US fell by approximately 34.6%.Import demand remains constrained, with the SA Revenue Service reporting a R13.3bn preliminary trade balance surplus for August 2024. Exports totalled R19.2bn and imports R5.9bn. Exports increased by R1.9bn (10.8%) between July and August 2024, whereas imports decreased by R0.05bn (-0.9%) over the same period.The preliminary cumulative trade balance for 2024 is a surplus of R89.7bn, compared to R81.5bn in 2023.One of the most marked drops has been in imports of solar panels, lithium-ion batteries and inverters, which nearly doubled from $1.7bn in 2022 to $3.8bn in 2023, according to Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies senior economist Gaylor Montmasson-Clair.A combination of Eskom keeping the lights on, the June 2024 imposition of a 10% import duty on solar panels, and affordability have seen domestic demand drop significantly. ER
