Statistics sa国际传媒 says the country posted a merchandise trade deficit of $160 million in December as both exports and imports fell compared with November.
The result followed a revised deficit of $219 million for November compared with an initial reading for the month that showed a $41 million deficit.
Statistics sa国际传媒 says exports in December fell 1.2 per cent in the month to $63.0 billion. Energy exports fell 7.6 per cent to $14.3 billion, while exports of farm, fishing and intermediate food products dropped 9.9 per cent to $5.3 billion.
Meanwhile, imports dropped 1.3 per cent in December to $63.1 billion as imports of consumer goods fell 6.4 per cent to $12.1 billion and motor vehicles and parts dropped 6.0 per cent to $9.9 billion.
In volume terms, total exports in December rose 0.9 per cent, while import volumes fell 1.9 per cent.
For the whole of 2022, Statistics sa国际传媒 says the country posted a merchandise trade surplus of $20.1 billion, up from a surplus of $4.6 billion in 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2023.
The Canadian Press
