South African Exports
South Africa is a key player in the global economy, and its exports are an important part of that role. South Africa's major trading partners include Germany, the United States, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and Spain.
South Africa is the continent's second-largest producer of gold, and it exports large quantities of chrome, manganese, platinum, and vanadium worldwide. Additionally, South Africa ranks among the top ten global producers of coal, ilmenite, palladium, rutile, and zirconium. Even though mining only accounts for a small percentage of GDP today, it used to make up a much larger part (around 14% in the 1980s). South African agriculture is also sizeable; the country is a net exporter of various farming products.
Two exports have made news recently:
The first is coal, more specifically high calorific value (CV) coal. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused coal export prices to skyrocket, up 403% over two years, as European countries continue to reduce their reliance on Russian coal and gas supplies. South Africa's Export of thermal coal is expected to rise to 70 million tons this year and 74 million tons next year, up from 64.9 million tons in 2021.Transnet strikes and problems with infrastructure have taken some of the shine off what could have been a breakthrough year with estimated "losses" of $4,5 billion, due to delivery performance.
The Second is berries. With fruit and nut exports making up $3.8 billion in revenue in 2020 this season seemed on track to be even more fruitful - with 15 000 tons of fruit ready to be exported to Europe and the UK.
Again the Transnet strike affected shipping and transport.
As to the extent of it, we will have to wait and see as the berries can be rejected by buyers over the loss in quality due to the delayed shipments, and because of poor port performance, the rejection and quality issues cost berry farmers R250 million last year.
Some of the exporters of coal and berries used road transport and used ports in Mozambique and Namibia as a last resort.
Here is where Inspexion.com's worldwide network of inspectors can help importers. Your regular inspector in Durban won't be able to inspect a shipment of coal for its calorific value, or the berry shipment to confirm the cold chain if it departs from Maputo but an inspector in our network can.
Be prepared for any changes in logistics and manage your inspections from one dashboard - whether it is from Durban, Windhoek, or Maputo.
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