SA’s bulk export volumes rose 5.4% year on year (y/y) to 13.2-million tons (Mt) in August, bringing the increase in the first eight months of 2015 to 11.7% y/y, data from the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) showed on Monday.

Bulk exports out of Richards Bay, which are mostly coal, grew by 10.7% y/y in the first eight months of 2015 to 60.9 Mt. As Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) no longer releases operational statistics, economists are finding it more difficult to track economic performance in SA in a timely manner.

The 30% slump in the maize harvest this year compared with last year has also affected bulk exports with grain and sugar bulk exports from the other ports, such as Durban, down 24.0% y/y in the first eight months to 7.6 Mt.

Despite the 40% plunge in the iron ore price, bulk exports out of Saldanha, which are mostly iron ore, were up 23.1% y/y in the first eight months of this year to 44.4 Mt.

Source: INET BFA