Question NW288 to the Minister of Trade and Industry
25 February 2016 - NW288
Alberts, Mr ADW to ask the Minister of Trade and Industry
(1)How many (a) imports and (b) exports did South Africa have during the period 1 January 2015 and 31 January 2016 in each month;
Reply:
The trade statistics between South Africa and the world per month for the period 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2015 are reflected in the table below as reflected on the dti trade statistics. Trade statistics for Jan 2016 will only be available at the end of February 2016.
|
Period |
RSA Exports To the World |
RSA Imports From the World |
Trade Balance |
|
15-Jan |
R 67 711 278 171.00 |
R 91 246 139 654.00 |
R -23 534 861 483.00 |
|
15-Feb |
R 77 501 216 358.00 |
R 85 347 719 814.00 |
R -7 846 503 456.00 |
|
15-Mar |
R 92 468 791 675.00 |
R 90 845 067 889.00 |
R 1 623 723 786.00 |
|
15-Apr |
R 83 770 337 974.00 |
R 86 234 008 823.00 |
R -2 463 670 849.00 |
|
15-May |
R 88 363 040 731.00 |
R 83 871 362 021.00 |
R 4 491 678 710.00 |
|
15-Jun |
R 89 929 880 048.00 |
R 84 469 615 781.00 |
R 5 460 264 267.00 |
|
15-Jul |
R 93 022 192 254.00 |
R 94 161 166 050.00 |
R -1 138 973 796.00 |
|
15-Aug |
R 87 255 431 865.00 |
R 97 551 304 536.00 |
R -10 295 872 671.00 |
|
15-Sep |
R 91 389 099 696.00 |
R 93 130 209 473.00 |
R -1 741 109 777.00 |
|
15-Oct |
R 85 298 508 022.00 |
R 107 390 729 251.00 |
R -22 092 221 229.00 |
|
15-Nov |
R 93 572 841 546.00 |
R 92 889 891 297.00 |
R 682 950 249.00 |
|
15-Dec |
R 88 770 527 510.00 |
R 80 549 461 697.00 |
R 8 221 065 813.00 |
(2) how much direct foreign (a) investment and (b) disinvestment did South Africa have during the period 1 January 2015 and 31 January 2016 in each month? NW296E
Response:
(2) (a) The recording of direct investment on the financial account is the function of the South Africa Reserve Bank. The Reserve Bank publishes such via a quarterly bulletin. The latest report covering the period up to December 2015 will only be available by the Reserve Bank in the fourth quarter bulletin later this month (March 2016).
the dti investment unit develops a pipeline of potential investment projects and for Q3 of the financial year 2015/16 recorded an investment pipeline of R 63.7 bn. This includes commitments by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the State Visit in December 2015 to invest in infrastructure and a green fields automotive plant of $ 800 million. The pipeline includes committed investments and launches by Unilever, Hunting, AVK Valves amongst others.
It should be noted that Multinationals operating in South Africa generally fund their new investments and expansions from the balance sheet of their local operations and utilize local banks to raise loans rather than receive funding from their foreign headquarters.
(b) The department does not record disinvestments. Disinvestment occurs as a result of a number of factors including reactions to prevailing global and local conditions and environment and also changes in business focus. For example in the Apartheid era there was a deliberate policy by international companies to disinvest from South Africa. However there are international companies that have invested and failed and therefore closed shop eg. Evraz has put Highveld Steel into business rescue because of the depressed steel demand and low prices of steel. This is not a disinvestment but a commercial decision driven by market conditions.