South Africa recorded a trade surplus of ZAR 21.7 billion in May 2025, widening from a downwardly revised ZAR 13 billion in the prior month. Exports climbed by 6.3% over a month to a six-month high of ZAR 176 billion, boosted by shipments of precious metals & stones (+30%), namely gold and PGMs; vegetable products (+17%); citrus fruits, base metals (+12%) and machinery & electronics (+11%). Exports increased to Europe (+14%), Africa (+4.6%) and Asia (+3.2%), but declined to Oceania (-44.5%) and America (-4.2%).
Meanwhile, imports rose at a slower 1.2% to ZAR 154 billion, driven by purchases of mineral products (+13%), primarily crude oil; base metals (+9%), namely artificial corundum, and original equipment components (+6%), which were partly offset by declines in vegetable products (-28%) and machinery & electronics (-4%). Imports went up from Africa (+32.3%) and Oceania (+11.8%) but dropped from America (-3.4%), Asia (-1.9%) and Europe (-2.2%).
