South African trade surplus quadrupled in June
· The South African
The South African trade surplus quadrupled to R17.8 billion in June from a revised R4.4 billion surplus in May. The preliminary estimate for May had been for a R1.8 billion deficit. There was a R7.8 billion revision to precious metal exports.
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The graph is based on data provided by the South African Revenue Service.The South African Revenue Service (SARS) said the June surplus was attributable to exports of R193.6 billion and imports of R175.8 billion.
In the first six months of 2026, exports have risen by 8.6% year-on-year to R1.079 trillion. In the same period, imports grew by 6.4% year-on-year to R969.9 billion.
Monthly changes
On a month-on-month basis, exports increased by R8 billion or 4.3%. This was driven the value of vehicle exports, which grew by 15.8% to R23.929 billion. Vegetable exports, which include maize, rose by 23.0% to R14.984 billion.
Imports fell by R5.3 billion or 2.9% to R175.8 billion. This was largely due to a drop in mineral products, which includes crude oil. There was a 15.2% decline in the value of mineral product imports to R44.0 billion.
Region split
Asia was the highest export growth region in the first six months of 2026 with a 20.3% year-on-year gain. This was followed by Europe with a 10.2% year-on-year rise.
Despite the implementation of the African Free Trade Agreement in January 2021, exports to the rest of Africa fell by 5.8% in the first four months. In 2025 exports to this region decreased by 2.1%.
Country split
The top 5 countries South Africa exported to in June 2026 were: China (12.5% of total exports), the US (7.7%), Germany (7.4%), Japan (5.6%) and the UK (4.0%). It shows that despite the strained diplomatic relations with the US, it remains South Africa’s second largest export destination.
This was not much different from February when the order was China (10.8%), Germany (9.2%), the US (7.5%), the UK (5.5%) and Japan (4.9%). In January the order was China (13.6%), Germany (7.9%), the US (6.7%), the UK (5.9%) and the Netherlands (5.8%).
The top 5 countries South Africa imported from in June 2026 were: China (22.7% of total imports), India (12.2%), Nigeria (6.8%), the US (6.3%) and Germany (5.7%).
The March order was China (22.0%), India (7.6%), Germany (7.5%), the US (5.4%) and Oman (3.7%).
The February order was China (25.4%), India (6.1%), Germany (6.1%), the US (6.0%) and Nigeria (3.6%). The January order was China (23.5%), India (7.7%), Germany (6.6%), the US (6.1%) and Oman (3.1%).
Significantly, Nigeria replaced Oman before the Iran war started on 28 February 2026 and disrupted oil supplies. In March Oman was back in fifth spot. This is because Oman has a port that is south of the Strait of Hormuz. In April Nigeria once again displaced Oman and this continued in June.