According to data released by the South African Revenue Service (SARS), in March this year the value of South Africa’s exports of base metals and articles thereof totaled ZAR 13.65 billion ($801.94 million), down 6.7 percent from February. In the January-March period, South Africa’s export value of base metals and articles thereof went down by 14.2 percent year on year to ZAR 40.93 billion ($2.41 billion).
In March, the country’s imports of base metals and articles thereof amounted to ZAR 7.88 billion ($463.20 million), increasing by 12.3 percent from the previous month, while in the first three months of 2026 South African imports of base metals and articles thereof moved up by 0.4 percent year on year to ZAR 23.51 billion ($1.38 billion) compared to the same period of 2025.