South Africa: Food exports (% of merchandise exports)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, South Africa's food exports (% of merchandise exports) rose 0.56 percentage points on 2024 (from 12.19% to 12.76%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.26 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.09 percentage points in 1996 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.92 percentage points in 1980. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 21% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, South Africa had the 55th highest value of the 103 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to South Africa in the 2025 ranking

• France — 52nd of 103: 13.37%
• Thailand — 53rd of 103: 13.26%
• Romania — 54th of 103: 12.97%
• Luxembourg — 56th of 103: 12.66%
• Estonia — 57th of 103: 12.46%
• Mozambique — 58th of 103: 12.42%

What this measures

Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise exports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.

Limitations: Previous editions contained data based on the SITC revision 1. Data for earlier years in previous editions may differ because of the change in methodology. Concordance tables are available to convert data reported in one system to another.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 45 values

Food exports (% of merchandise exports) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0.54% (2025)
• Benin — 39.66% (2024)
• Botswana — 1.85% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 7.09% (2024)
• Burundi — 46.02% (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 86.39% (2024)
• Cameroon — 22.85% (2023)
• Central African Republic — 0.22% (2024)
• Comoros — 88.54% (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 1.34% (2024)

More private sector & trade data for South Africa

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 57.23% (2025)
• Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service imports) — 5.66% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$128.08 billion (2025)
• Computer, communications and other services (% of commercial service imports) — 44.21% (2025)
• Commercial service imports (current US$) — US$21.49 billion (2025)
• Transport services (% of commercial service imports) — 36.96% (2025)
• Travel services (% of commercial service imports) — 13.18% (2025)
• Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports) — 9.81% (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is South Africa's food exports (% of merchandise exports)?

12.76% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1974?

It is down 14.5 percentage points from 27.26% in 1974. The highest value was 28.68% in 1975 and the lowest 5.73% in 1984.

How does South Africa rank?

55th highest of 103 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in food exports (% of merchandise exports) unusual for South Africa?

In 2025, South Africa's food exports (% of merchandise exports) rose 0.56 percentage points on 2024 (from 12.19% to 12.76%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.26 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.FOOD.ZS.UN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division; World Integrated Trade Solution system (WITS); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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