South Africa’s Economic South Africa’s Economic Presence in AfricaPresence in Africa

Presentation by

John Daniel and Jessica Lutchman

A Roundtable Discussion on Poverty, HIV/AIDS and Inequality

Pretoria

23 January 2006

Shaking off decades of apartheid-era isolation, South African executives, both black and white, are moving north to buy struggling banks, rebuild rundown railways, and bring first-world technology … to an impoverished continent … this explosion of trade and investment … is one of the most vivid illustrations of South Africa’s metamorphosis since apartheid ended in 1994. Once a pariah state, South Africa now seems poised to dominate the continent that once shunned its products and leaders. New York Times 17.02.02

With returns routinely over 30% – in some cases 50%–60% – compared to the 16–20% of South Africa, Africa’s allure can be irresistible.Financial Mail 07.02.03

Like wildfire tearing through dry forest, South Africa is rapidly entrenching itself in every facet of the Nigerian economy: from construction, energy, aviation, entertainment to revenue collection, South African companies loom large and are still growing.Aminu Mohammed, Weekly Trust 13.09.03

The third scramble for Africa continues apaceDuncan Clarke, chair of Global Pacific and Partners.

 

South African exports by regionSouth African exports by region Table 1: South Africa’s exports by region 2000-November 2005 

Region Exports (R millions)

 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Nov-05

Africa 28,109 34,709 44,580 39,000 39,037 42,002

Americas 31,122 37,331 42,936 34,161 36,571 34,743

Asia 45,885 53,268 67,412 65,176 73,200 79,788

Europe 70,786 85,592 105,699 92,019 102,969 106,370

Pacific 3,838 4,363 5,767 6,331 7,921 8,764

Total 179,740 215,263 266,394 236,687 259,698 271,667

Graph 1: South Africa’s exports by region 2000-November 2005

South African exports by region 2000-Nov 2005

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Table 2: South Africa’s imports by region 2000-November 2005 

Region Imports (R millions)

 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Nov-05

Africa 5,038 5,630 9,937 8,217 13,000 16,212

Americas 28,422 33,833 43,536 36,436 40,158 40,097

Asia 67,283 73,479 88,109 89,131 114,806 128,404

Europe 81,100 94,725 123,902 116,597 129,398 130,094

Pacific 4,262 6,511 8,422 6,765 8,118 7,631

Total 186,105 214,178 273,906 257,146 305,480 322,438

Graph 2: South Africa’s imports by region 2000-November 2005 

South African imports by region 2000-Nov 2005

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Table 3: South Africa’s trade balances by region 2000-November 2005 

 Trade balance (R millions)

Region

 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Nov-05

Africa 23,846 29,078 34,642 30,783 26,037 25,790

Americas 2,700 3,498 -600 -2,275 -3,587 -5,354

Asia -21,398 -20,211 -20,698 -23,955 -41,606 -48,616

Europe -10,314 -9,133 -18,202 -24,578 -26,429 -23,724

Pacific -1,200 -2,148 -2,655 -434 -197 1,133

Total -6,366 1,084 -7,513 -20,459 -45,782 -50,771

 

Graph 3: South Africa’s trade balances by region 2000-November 2005

South Africa's trade balances by regions

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Table 4: Percentage share of SA’s global exports by region 

Region Exports (R millions)

  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Nov 2005

Africa 15.6 16.1 16.7 16.5 15 15.5

Americas 17.4 17.4 16.1 14.4 14.1 12.7

Asia 25.5 24.7 25.3 27.5 28.2 29.4

Europe 39.4 39.8 39.7 38.9 39.6 39.2

Pacific 2.1 2 2.2 2.7 3.1 3.2

  

Percentage share of SA's global exports by region

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Table 5: Percentage share of SA’s global imports by region 

Region Imports (R millions)

  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Nov 2005

Africa 2.7 2.6 3.6 3.2 4.3 5

Americas 15.3 15.8 15.9 14.2 13.1 12.4

Asia 36.2 34.4 32.2 34.7 37.5 39.8

Europe 43.5 44.2 45.2 45.3 42.4 40.4

Pacific 2.3 3 3.1 2.6 2.7 2.4

 

Percentage share of SA's global imports by region

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  Exports Imports Total Trade Position Position Position Position Country

Jan - Sep 2005 (R millions)

Jan - Sep 2005 (R Millions)

Jan - Sep 2005 (R millions)

Jan-Sep 2005 2004 2003 2002

ZIMBABWE 5,669 2,384 8,053 1 1 1 1

 NIGERIA 2,546 3,524 6,070 2 2 3 3

 MOZAMBIQUE 4,884 141 5,025 3 4 2 2

 ANGOLA 2,663 1,889 4,552 4 5 5 5

 ZAMBIA 3,514 960 4,474 5 3 4 4

 KENYA 2,165 161 2,326 6 6 6 8

 TANZANIA 2,040 183 2,223 7 7 9 9

 MAURITIUS 1,441 123 1,564 8 9 7 7

 MALAWI 1,081 341 1,422 9 8 8 6

 DEM REP of CONGO 1,329 17 1,346 10 10 10 10

South Africa’s top ten trading partners