30 INTERNATIONAL & REGIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
SOUTH AFRICA Irvaan Maharaj Business Development Manager: South Africa very open economy. A closed economy would be a country that does not trade a lot and manufacture or supply its local market with mostly domestically produced/manufactured goods. Due to South Africa's economy being so open, it does lend itself to greater volatility as the local economy is in a large part influenced by global events and economies.
The economy of South Africa is the second largest in Africa. As a regional manufacturing hub, it is the most industrialised and diversified economy on the continent. The country has a comparative advantage in the production of agriculture, mining and manufacturing products relating to these sectors. As a leading economy, many global corporates operate their continental and regional head quarters from here. Due to this fact, the WBCG’s Business Development Office in this market plays a crucial role in forging strategic relationships with these multinationals.
SOUTH AFRICA’S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK Currently the value of imports and exports per quarter equates to roughly 60% of South Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). So trade is an extremely important part of the South African Economy. The overall size of imports and exports as a percentage of our economy points to the fact that South Africa is a
WALVIS BAY CORRIDOR GROUP
South Africa's Revenue Service (SARS) released the latest trade statistics numbers and looking at South Africa's top 5 trading partners for both imports and exports as well as covering the value of our exports and imports. Exports: 1. China (10.1%) 2. Germany (8.6%) 3. United States (7.3%) 4. United Kingdom (5.5%) 5. India (5.1%) Imports: 1. China (19.2%) 2. Germany (7.8%) 3. United States (6.5%) 4. India (5.5%) 5. Nigeria (5.0%) Total value of goods traded : Exports: R 116,902,027,397 Imports: R 110,804,693,420
