According to data released by the South African Revenue Service (SARS), in May of the current year the value of South Africa's exports of base metals and articles thereof totaled ZAR 10.61 billion ($1 billion), increasing by 0.4 percent from April. In the first five months of this year, South Africa's export value of base metals and articles thereof increased by 29.9 percent year on year, reaching ZAR 54.62 billion ($5.14 billion).
In May this year, the country's imports of base metals and articles thereof amounted to ZAR 3.73 billion ($351.40 million), down 3.4 percent from April, while in the first five months South African imports of base metals and articles thereof remained unchanged from the same period of 2013, amounting to ZAR 19.86 billion ($1.87 billion).