The South African Revenue Service (Sars) trade statistics for April indicate a preliminary trade surplus of R15.49-billion. The R15.49-billion preliminary trade balance surplus for April is attributable to exports of R151.79-billion and imports of R136.30-billion, Sars says. Exports decreased by R35.81-billion (19.1%) between March and April and imports decreased by R4.10-billion (2.9%) over the same period.
The year-to-date (January 1 to April 30) preliminary trade balance surplus of R79.43-billion is a deterioration from the R148.03-billion trade balance surplus for the comparable period in 2021. Exports for the year-to-date increased by 7.5% to R613.24-billion from R570.35-billion over the same period during 2021. Imports for the year-to-date of R533.81-billion were 26.4% higher than the R422.31-billion imports recorded during the same period in 2021. The cumulative trade balance surplus for the year is R79.43-billion.