South Africa (ZAF) and Switzerland (CHE) Trade

2022

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Exports $6.43BRnk 6 / 214

2022

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About

South Africa-Switzerland Trade: In 2022, South Africa exported $6.43B to Switzerland. The main products that South Africa exported to Switzerland were Gold ($5.63B), Platinum ($325M), and Cars ($115M). Over the past 5 years the exports of South Africa to Switzerland have increased at an annualized rate of 29.4%, from $1.77B in 2017 to $6.43B in 2022.

In 2022, South Africa did not export any services to Switzerland.

Switzerland-South Africa Trade: In 2022, Switzerland exported $678M to South Africa. The main products that Switzerland exported to South Africa were Packaged Medicaments ($66.8M), Rolled Tobacco ($61.2M), and Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($49.8M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Switzerland to South Africa have decreased at an annualized rate of 1.59%, from $822M in 2017 to $678M in 2022.

In 2019, Switzerland exported services to South Africa worth $622M, with Transportation ($277M), Royalties and license fees ($152M), and Financial services ($80.6M) being the largest in terms of value.

Comparison: In 2022, South Africa ranked 59 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 0.076), and 34 in total exports ($147B). That same year, Switzerland ranked 2 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 1.97), and 17 in total exports ($402B).

Latest Trends

June, 2024

About

Overview In June 2024, South Africa exported ZAR381M and imported ZAR939M from Switzerland, resulting in a negative trade balance of ZAR558M. Between June 2023 and June 2024 the exports of South Africa have decreased by ZAR-363M (-48.8%) from ZAR744M to ZAR381M, while imports decreased by ZAR-123M (-11.6%) from ZAR1.06B to ZAR939M.

Trade In June 2024, the top exports of South Africa to Switzerland were Raw Aluminium (ZAR279M), Coal Briquettes (ZAR128M), Raw Nickel (ZAR127M), Coin (ZAR67.5M), and Wine (ZAR5.87M). In June 2024 the top imports of South Africa from Switzerland were Rolled Tobacco (ZAR125M), Packaged Medicaments (ZAR63.6M), Ink (ZAR55.6M), Base Metal Watches (ZAR52.6M), and Carboxyamide Compounds (ZAR50M).

Origins In June 2024 the exports of South Africa were mainly from Oshoek (ZAR127M), O.R. Tambo Int Airport (ZAR123M), Komatipoort (ZAR82.1M), Cape Town (ZAR20.2M), and Durban (ZAR14.1M), while imports destinations were mainly O.R. Tambo Int Airport (ZAR461M), Durban (ZAR326M), Port Elizabeth (ZAR49.4M), Cape Town (ZAR34M), and Cape Town Int Airport (ZAR31.4M).

Growth In June 2024, the decrease in South Africa's year-by-year exports to Switzerland was explained primarily by an decrease in product exports in Telephones (ZAR-6.83M or -99.9%), Wine (ZAR-6.36M or -52%), and Laboratory Reagents (ZAR-5.38M or -99.9%). In June 2024, the decrease in South Africa's year-by-year imports from Switzerland was explained primarily by an decrease in product imports in Refined Petroleum (ZAR-36.4M or -95%), Machinery Having Individual Functions (ZAR-24.5M or -63.9%), and Electrical Transformers (ZAR-7.6M or -76.9%).

Latest Trade

Time Scale

Year

Quarter

Month

Flow

Exports

Imports

Value

Trade Value

Growth

Growth (%)

Depth

HS2

HS4

HS6

EXPORT GROWTH (June 2023 - June 2024)ZAR-363M(-48.8%)

IMPORT GROWTH (June 2023 - June 2024)ZAR-123M(-11.6%)

MAIN EXPORTER (June 2024)OshoekZAR127M

This section shows exports and imports data at subnational level for South Africa. Click any date in the line plot, any subnational region in the geomap or any product to explore the exports or imports behavior of South Africa over time.

To check Switzerland and South Africa trade dynamics, check the bilateral page.

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Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

Depth

HS2

HS4

HS6

Value

Trade

Growth

Growth (%)

Year

In 2022, South Africa exported $6.43B to Switzerland. The main products exported from South Africa to Switzerland were Gold ($5.63B), Platinum ($325M), and Cars ($115M). During the last 5 years the exports of South Africa to Switzerland have increased at an annualized rate of 29.4%, from $1.77B in 2017 to $6.43B in 2022.

In 2017, Switzerland exported $678M to South Africa. The main products exported from Switzerland to South Africa were Packaged Medicaments ($66.8M), Rolled Tobacco ($61.2M), and Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($49.8M). During the last 5 years the exports of Switzerland to South Africa have decreased at an annualized rate of 1.59%, from $822M in 2022 to $678M in 2017.

Exports from South Africa () to Switzerland () (2022)

Exports from Switzerland () to South Africa () (2022)

Market Competitiveness

Color

Exports

Export Growth

Section

Year

South Africa
Top DestinationChina$23.4B

Switzerland
Top DestinationUnited States$61.7B

This map shows whether countries import more from South Africa or Switzerland. Each country is colored based on the difference in imports they receive from South Africa and Switzerland or the difference in the growth in imports.

In 2022, countries that imported more from South Africa than Switzerland included Mozambique ($5.43B), Botswana ($4.74B), and Zimbabwe ($3.3B).

In 2022, countries that imported more from Switzerland than South Africa included United States ($61.7B), Germany ($53.5B), and China ($44.1B).

Difference in imports from Switzerland () and South Africa () (2022)

Comparative Advantage South Africa - Switzerland

Flow

Section

HS2

HS4

Scale

Log

Linear

Year

This chart compares trade between South Africa and Switzerland by product, considering products traded by both, South Africa and Switzerland.

During 2022, South Africa had a large net trade with Switzerland in the exports of Precious Metals ($6.05B), Transportation ($149M), and Metals ($115M).

During 2017, Switzerland had a large net trade with South Africa in the exports of Chemical Products ($210M), Instruments ($129M), and Machines ($121M).

Potential Exports

Depth

Section

HS2

HS4

View

Top 20

Top 15

Top 10

Sort By

Highest Potential

Most Saturated

Section

Top Product Potential South Africa Switzerland+$63.4MCars

Top Product Potential Switzerland South Africa+$47.2MPackaged Medicaments

We estimate the export potential of an economy for each product and destination using an extension of the bilateral relatedness model of Jun et al. (2019).This extended gravity model considers similarities among products and geographies and explains more than 50% of the variance in future trade flows.

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Bilateral Service Trade

Che Year

Service trade data is presented based on availability.

Services Exports from Switzerland () to South Africa () (2019)

Service Trade

Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

Year

This visualization shows the product space at the HS4 level with the flags of South Africa and Switzerland. This means that a dot/product with the flag of South Africa indicates it has a comparative advantage over Switzerland. Similarly, a dot/product with the flag of Switzerland indicates it has a comparative advantage over South Africa.

Product Space of South Africa () and Switzerland () (2022)

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