South African import and export with China

The booming Chinese economy is sucking in massive amounts of South African exports as it needs our mineral exports such as coal and iron ore to fuel its economy.

According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs of China, South African exports to China showed an 83.2 per cent year-on-year (y/y) surge in the first of 2021 to $15.89 billion (about R230bn), while South African imports from China grew by 52.4 per cent y/y to $9.43bn, resulting in a trade surplus in South Africa’s favour of $6.46bn.

China’s economy sustained a steady recovery in the first half of the year, with the production and demand booming, while employment and prices remained stable, the National Bureau of Statistics said. It added, however, there were concerns about the global spread of the pandemic and unbalanced recovery domestically. In the first half, the economy grew by 12.7 per cent y/y, due in part to base effects as it was measured against last year’s coronavirus-triggered slump.

Among sectors, the primary industry rose by 7.8 per cent during the first six months of the year, the secondary industry increased by 14.8 per cent, and the tertiary industry grew by 11.8 per cent. From a South African perspective, the secondary sector is the most important, as that is the sector that sucks in our exports. This is reflected in the strong growth of 15.9 per cent y/y in Chinese industrial production in the first half.

South Africa is not the only beneficiary of a booming Chinese economy, as the total trade value between China and Africa grew by 41.9 per cent y/y to reach $116.89bn in the first half of the year.