Johannesburg - Africa's trade with the world's four
largest emerging markets, namely Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC
countries), has grown from $20.3bn in 2001 to about $162bn in
2008, said the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in an economic report
on Wednesday.
"The significance of the BRIC countries in the world is demonstrated by
their increasing share in global economic activity over time. Their combined
share of global gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 22.3% in 2008, while
accounting for 13.3% of world exports of goods and services in the same year at
purchasing power parity. Moreover, in 2008, the BRICs accounted for 42.6% of
the global population," said the IDC.
This trend for South Africa is overwhelmingly dominated by trade with China
and, to a much lesser extent, India.
"The progressive strengthening of South Africa's trade and investment
relations at the bilateral level with each of these large emerging markets, as
well as the IBSA initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa to promote
South-South cooperation and exchange, have contributed to this trade
performance," said the IDC.
South Africa's imports from Brazil increased from $154m in 2004 to
$201m in 2008. The imported products consisted mainly of commodities,
machinery and equipment. Over the same period, South Africa's exports to Brazil
more than doubled from $38m to almost $80m, with the top
product categories being ferro-alloys and motor vehicle components.
The Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) concluded between the Southern
African Customs Union (SACU, which comprises Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South
Africa and Swaziland) and the Mercado Com?n del Sur (MERCOSUR or MERCOSUL,
comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) is expected to enhance
trade flows between the two regional block to a considerable extent.
The analysts noted that South Africa's imports from Russia expanded
substantially from $40m in 2004 to $301m in 2008. The bulk of
the imported products were mineral fuels and oils, including crude petroleum
oils, as well as fertilisers. South Africa's exports to Russia, in turn, grew
from $97m in 2004 to almost $240m by 2008. The leading
exports to Russia included edible fruits and nuts, machinery and mechanical
appliances.
India is South Africa's sixth-largest trading partner in Asia, with the
total trade between the two countries having more than doubled from $1.2bn in 2004 to $4.4bn in 2008. India's principal imports from South
Africa last year were inorganic chemicals (principally phosphoric acid), coal
and coal products. South Africa's imports from India, in turn, were dominated
by petroleum (not crude) and petroleum products, electrical and electronic
equipment, and to a lesser extent pharmaceutical products. Trade has been
supported by cooperation agreements between the two countries in various
sectors, with the IBSA initiative providing significant momentum.
"Negotiations are under way for the Southern African Customs Union to enter
into a Preferential Trade Agreement with India. This is expected to boost
Indian exports to SACU and to encourage Indian companies to do business with,
and invest in Southern Africa," said the IDC.
Meanwhile, China overtook the United States as South Africa's largest
export destination since the start of 2009, as economic and trade relations
between the two countries intensified.
China's imports from South Africa are dominated by ores (specifically iron
ores and concentrates), as well as iron and steel, including ferro-alloys and
flat-rolled products of stainless steel. South Africa's leading imports from
China were electrical machinery and electronic equipment, electrical
appliances, computing and printing equipment.
According to the International Trade Centre, overall trade between South
Africa and China increased from $4.5bn in 2004 to almost $14bn
in 2008.
The bilateral relationship has been progressively strengthened since the
Pretoria Declaration on the Partnership between the People's Republic of China
and the Republic of South Africa, which was signed in 2000, says the IDC.
The two countries established a Strategic Partnership in 2004 and adopted a
cooperation programme to deepen such a partnership in Cape Town in 2006. A
Joint Ministerial Commission has provided an effective platform for China and
South Africa to engage more regularly on economic issues, while South African
President Jacob Zuma and his Chinese counterpart, President Hu Jintao, agreed
in New York, in September 2009, to deepen bilateral relations and boost
cooperation between the two countries in various fields.
- I-Net Bridge