From Coal to Cars, South Africa Makes Trillions From Exporting Every Year, Here’s What You Need to Know

South Africa has a lot to offer to the world. From minerals to agricultural goods, many countries around the globe depend on South African exports, which create the much-needed revenue that government needs to provide services.

South Africa's exports generate billions of rand every year and with our food exports becoming more popular in other countries, we can expect to see growth in the export industry in the coming years.

One farmer tapped into a niche by mass-producing one of the world's most expensive spices, saffron, a first for South Africa. According to Cape Talk, Bennie Engelbrecht, founder of Saffricon, makes R250 000 per kg of saffron and exports it to countries around the globe.

Although saffron is still a small market, Engelbrecht has plans to challenge top players in eight to 10 years.

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Briefly News takes an in-depth look into the export industry, from how much revenue it generates for the country to who our trading partners are.

How much money does South Africa make from exports?

In March 2023, Trading Economies indicated that exports from South Africa grew by 26.9% over a month to a record high of R192.2 billion. This suggests that the country will most likely see significant export growth this year.

However, while exports may have shown significant growth, South Africa seems to be importing more than it's exporting, creating a trade deficit.

It is not all doom and gloom for the country as the figures may change as the year proceeds and we may see another trade surplus as we did in 2022.

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According to BusinessTech, South Africa saw a trade surplus of R211.6 billion, with exports making up R2.02 trillion and imports making up R1.81 trillion.

In 2021, South Africa made R2.49 trillion from exports, which comprised 31.19% of the GDP.

Here's a breakdown of how much money South Africa made in the past five years:

Which countries does South Africa export to?

South Africa exports to over 190 countries, including sanctioned countries such as North Korea, Cuba and Zimbabwe.

According to SARS, China was our top export in March 2023 and has been in the top five for several years. The other countries in the top five include the USA, Japan, Germany and the Netherlands.

However, World's Top Exports indicate that in 2022, the trend was slightly different with the United Kingdom making the top five.

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Here's a breakdown and how much the countries spent on exports from South Africa:

Interestingly, South Africa's neighbouring countries may not have been in the top five, but they were in the top 20 countries we exported to last year.

What are South Africa's top export goods?

Unsurprisingly, South Africa's top export goods are precious metals and gems because Mzansi is rich in mineral resources. These goods generate a lot of revenue for the country and contribute to the GDP.

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Trading Economics noted that in March 2023, 57% of exports were precious metals and stones, followed by base metals at 33% and mineral products at 19%. South Africa also exports coal, vehicles and telecommunications products.

The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) listed the top export products in February 2023 and how much revenue they generated.

Here are the top five:

DJ SBU’s energy drink finally gets approval to be exported to America, a big win for star

Briefly News previously reported that DJ Sbu's energy drink Mofaya will now be found on the American market. The star announced that the FDA gave the green light to export the product.

Sbu recently hogged headlines when fans noticed he was now looking shabby and not shaving his beard and hair. He assured everyone that he's okay and people should worry about more important things, not his looks.

Source: Briefly News