South Africa's import and export trade maintains resilience

Recently, Parks Tao, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) of South Africa, stated in a speech that South Africa continues to benefit from a wide network of preferential and non preferential trade agreements covering 90 countries and regions, which account for 28% of the global gross domestic product (GDP). In the face of the dramatic changes in the global trade landscape, South Africa's import and export trade remains resilient. In 2024, South Africa's foreign trade volume will be $19.97 billion. The export value is 98.6 billion US dollars, and the import value is 101.1 billion US dollars.

Parks Tao talked about the status of South Africa's trade relations, the progress of ongoing trade negotiations, and South Africa's strategy to cope with the increasingly volatile global trade environment. Parks Tao said that global trade is undergoing drastic changes, with unilateral measures and retaliatory tariffs constantly increasing, and the multilateral trading system being disrupted.

The Director General of the World Trade Organization, Viola, previously warned that tariffs are causing "unprecedented" damage to the international trading system in 80 years, with the proportion of global trade conducted under WTO terms dropping to 72% and possibly further declining thereafter. These changes are driven by increasing geopolitical tensions and great power competition, and are creating uncertainty and weakening predictable, rule-based trade. Parks Tao stated that South Africa's treatment under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expired at the end of September this year. South Africa will continue to negotiate with the United States on a reciprocal trade agreement to reduce the tariffs currently imposed by the United States on South Africa and make its exports more competitive, but the relevant negotiations have not yet yielded results. Given this, South Africa needs to strengthen its industrial base, diversify its trading partners, and enhance economic resilience.

Parks Tao emphasized the importance of African economic integration, stating that significant progress has been made in the construction of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). South Africa's trade volume has significantly increased under the AfCFTA framework. South Africa is also actively expanding new market access for African countries outside of the Southern African Development Community (SAVC) member states. Recent breakthroughs include reaching consensus on key rules of origin for automobiles and textiles, which will open up new opportunities for South African industry.

Parks Tao highlighted the relevant strategies adopted by the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to reduce the global risks faced by South Africa and expand exports, stating that this will help achieve the goal of increasing South African exports from 2 trillion rand to 3 trillion rand by 2030.

The October 2025 trade statistics released by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on November 28 showed that South Africa's trade surplus in October this year was R15.6 billion. From September to October 2025, South Africa's exports increased from R187 billion to R192.2 billion, with a growth rate of 2.8%, while imports increased from R164.8 billion to R176.6 billion during the same period, with a growth rate of 7.2%. Data shows that in October 2025, China will continue to maintain its position as South Africa's largest trading partner, with exports to China and imports from China accounting for 10.5% and 23.8% of South Africa's total imports and exports, respectively. The proportion of South China trade in South Africa's foreign trade is significantly higher than that of South Africa and other trading partners.

ETM Analytics, a South African economic and financial research institution, pointed out in a research report that investors are particularly concerned about South Africa's latest trade data. Despite various tariffs imposed by the United States on South Africa earlier this year, South Africa has achieved a trade surplus for eight consecutive months in 2025, thanks to rising commodity prices driving up exports and lower international oil prices reducing import costs.

On November 28th, Wandile Silobo, Chief Economist of Agbiz, wrote in the media that despite significant changes and uncertainties in global trade policies, South African agricultural exports have maintained a strong momentum since the beginning of this year. In the first three quarters of this year, the cumulative value of South Africa's agricultural exports reached $11.7 billion, an increase of 10% compared to the same period in 2024. The latest data shows that the total export value of South African agricultural products in the third quarter of this year reached 4.7 billion US dollars, an increase of 13% compared to the same period last year, mainly due to the increase in export volume of various agricultural products and the rise in commodity prices. In addition, compared to before, the efficiency of South African ports has significantly improved, thereby promoting export activities. The South African agricultural sector will have a trade surplus of $2.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 28% compared to the previous year.

From a regional perspective, in the third quarter of 2025, the African continent will continue to hold the majority of South Africa's agricultural exports, accounting for 34% of the total value. The Asia and Middle East region is the second largest export market for South African agricultural products, accounting for 25% of the total agricultural exports. The EU is the third largest export market for South African agricultural products, accounting for 23% of the total agricultural exports. The Americas account for 6% of the total non-agricultural exports in South America. It is worth noting that South Africa's agricultural exports to the United States in the third quarter of 2025 decreased by 11% compared to the same period in 2024, to $144 million, accounting for 3% of the total agricultural exports.

Since the implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act in the United States, South Africa's share of agricultural exports to the United States has remained at its current level. Whether South Africa can successfully reach favorable trade terms with the United States in the future remains important for South Africa. In addition, South Africa also imports various agricultural products. In the third quarter of 2025, the total import value of agricultural products in South Africa was 1.9 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 2%. This is due to a slight decline in the value and quantity of South Africa's main imported products such as wheat, palm oil, poultry, and whiskey. The cumulative import value of agricultural products in South Africa for the first three quarters of this year was 5.7 billion US dollars, an increase of 4% compared to the same period in 2024. South Africa lacks suitable climate conditions for growing rice and palm oil, so it relies on importing these products. As for wheat, South Africa imports almost half of its annual consumption. In addition, imported poultry meat accounts for about 20% of the annual consumption of poultry meat in South Africa.

South African economists believe that in the current environment of heightened geopolitical tensions, the South African agricultural sector, policy makers, and agricultural enterprises must find ways to maintain existing export markets and expand new ones under an export-oriented industrial policy. Firstly, efforts should continue to be made to improve logistics efficiency, including investing in port and railway infrastructure, as well as improving the road conditions in agricultural towns; Secondly, efforts must be made to maintain and expand South Africa's existing markets in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the European Union, and the Americas, and actively explore new markets; The third is to expand market access for BRICS countries, with a focus on reducing import tariffs and eliminating phytosanitary barriers that hinder deepening trade within BRICS countries.

According to reports, China has been South Africa's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, and South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for 15 consecutive years. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the trade volume between China and South Africa reached 52.46 billion US dollars in 2024, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the total trade volume between China and Africa. In recent years, South African agricultural products such as wine and Loubous tea have increasingly entered the Chinese market. The export of South African agricultural products to China has also received support from many new policy measures from China. South African fresh avocado has previously obtained market access in China. During the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2024, China announced that it would implement a zero tariff policy for all tariff products for African countries that have diplomatic relations, including South Africa. On November 14th, the General Administration of Customs of China announced that it will allow the import of fresh fruit fruits such as South African peaches, plums, apricots, and plums that meet relevant requirements from today onwards. South Africa is actively exploring the export of agricultural products to China and has received positive responses from the Chinese side. This move will bring new growth opportunities to South African agriculture and is expected to improve the export competitiveness of South African agricultural products. It will help South Africa maintain agricultural resilience and diversify its agricultural exports, effectively responding to the current complex global trade and tariff situation and challenges.