South Africa
Economic and trade overview
Key figuresEconomy 2011 Trade 2011 (USD billion)
GDP (USD) 408 bn Goods Exports 103
GDP per capita (USD) 8,090 Imports 100
GDP volume growth (year-on-year) + 3.3% Net + 2
Population 50.46m Services Exports 15
MMR (year average) 5.29% Imports 20
Exchange rate ZAR / USD (year average) 7.2611 Net – 5
BoP (goods, services & income) as % of GDP – 2.9% Source: IFS, IMF, January 2013International/Regional memberships
Southern African Customs Union
(SACU): since 1 March 1970. Botswana,
Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland are also
members.
Southern African Development Community
(SADC): since 30 August 1994.
International Monetary Fund (IMF):
since 27 December 1945.
World Trade Organization (WTO):
since 1 January 1995.Government trade policy
South Africa trades freely with its fellow
SACU (www.sacu.int) member states. The
SACU member states have also established
common external tariffs.
SACU has established a free trade
agreement with EFTA (the European Free
Trade Association) and a trade, investment
and development co-operation agreement
(TIDCA) with the USA. South Africa has also
established a TIDCA with the European Union.
South Africa trades freely with its fellow
SADC (www.sadc.int) member states, apart
from Angola, the Democratic Republic of
Congo and the Seychelles, which have yet
to join the free trade area. Approximately 85
percent of all items traded between SADC
member states are now exempt from tariffs.An SADC customs union is planned for
2013, with a common market due in 2015.
Three trade blocs, COMESA (the Common
Market of Eastern and Southern Africa), EAC
(East African Community) and SADC, have
agreed to merge into a single 26-member
African Free Trade Zone (AFTZ). This is
expected to take place in 2013.
South Africa has independently established
a preferential trade agreement with Mercosur
(Mercado Común del Sur / the Southern
Cone Common Market), cutting import tariffs
on around 2,000 items.
National export credit insurance providers:
Export Credit Insurance Corporation of
South Africa (ECIC — http://www.ecic.co.za);
Credit Guarantee Insurance Corporation of
Africa (CGIC — http://www.creditguarantee.co.za).
The state-owned Industrial Development
Corporation of South Africa (www.idc.co.za)
provides state-supported medium to long-
term finance for exports of manufactured and
capital goods, and for contractors engaging
in construction overseas.
South Africa is home to four industrial
development zones (in Richards Bay; Coega,
near Port Elizabeth; Elidz, in East London;
and next to Johannesburg International
Airport) in which no import duties or VAT are
applied on assets and machinery.