South Africa - Foreign trade

Gold, diamonds and other metals and minerals are the most valuable export commodities. Exports of gold, platinum, coal, and iron account for approximately 17% of commodity exports. The share of gold as a percentage of total merchandise exports fell from 51.4% in 1980 to 13% in 2000. In 1995, processed primary product exports exceeded those of gold for the first time. The top nine exports are as follows:

	% OF COUNTRY TOTAL
Diamonds	6.7
Coal, lignite and peat	5.1
Pig iron	5.0
Iron and steel primary forms	2.5
Inorganic chemicals	2.5
Base metal ores	2.4
Fruits and nuts	2.2
Pulp and waste paper	1.9
Iron and steel plates	1.4

In 2000 South Africa's imports were distributed among the following categories:

Consumer goods	11.1%
Food	3.8%
Fuels	14.2%
Industrial supplies	24.7%
Machinery	27.7%
Transportation	10.4%
Other	8.1%

The US and South Africa established bilateral trade agreements in the late 1990s. Principal trading partners in 2000 (in millions of US dollars) were as follows:

COUNTRY	EXPORTS	IMPORTS	BALANCE
United States	2,409	3,187	-778
United Kingdom	2,288	2,251	37
Germany	1,900	3,524	-1,624
Japan	1,355	2,131	-776
Netherlands	1,010	513	497
Belgium	965	410	555
Italy	838	894	-56
China (inc. Hong Kong)	662	1,275	-613
France	564	1,138	-574
Iran	n.a.	1,164	n.a.