Lebombo border closure with Mozambique saw a 20% decline in trade - Godongwana

CAPE TOWN - Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that the closure of the Lebombo border with Mozambique had seen a 20% decline in trade compared to last year.

But Godongwana said that the impact of the disruptions to the South African economy "has not yet been fully computed", as the post-election violence continues in Mozambique, including in Maputo and on the N4 trade corridor.

But he said that annual comparative data showed a double-digit decline in export declarations.

READ: Law enforcement at SA's Lebombo border post beefed up following civil unrest in Mozambique

The finance minister was asked by Rise Mzansi’s Songezo Zibi what the total amount the closure of the border cost the economy and what future contingencies had been put in place.

Godongwana said the cross-border declaration and trade data for the period between 9 October or the day of elections in Mozambique, and 6 December revealed that comparative data for the same period in 2023 showed a decline of 20% in export declarations.

He said that this represented a R4.8 billion “negative variance in customs value and a slight increase in import declarations of 13.1% or 676 declarations".

But the minister said that there were efforts between the two countries to ease the impact like making "alternative arrangements with Eswatini to re-route cargo from South Africa via Eswatini and through the Namaacha border post into Mozambique".

Godongwana said that the decrease in exports from South Africa to Mozambique related mostly to ferro alloys, coal, chromium ore, iron ore and phosphates.

As far as imports into South Africa were concerned, these are predominantly petroleum products and aluminium wire.