Trends in export specialization of the Republic of South Africa at the beginning of the XXI century

Abstract

The article examines the dynamics of foreign trade and export propensity of South Africa between 2001 and 2016. A comprehensive analysis of the commodity and geographical structure of South Africa’s exports at the level of two digits of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System was carried out to identify changes in the country’s export specialization in the early 21st century. Based on the calculations results of the revealed comparative advantage index (RCA), authors identifi ed several groups of products. Th e fi rst one includes the products with a consistently high value of the coeffi cient, indicating the existence of comparative advantages. The next group consists of the goods with the increased value of the RCA during the period under review. Th e others incorporate commodities, characterized by a decrease in the value of RCA, and the loss of comparative advantages for South Africa. It is concluded that the reasons for the changes in export specialization are aff ected not only by the domestic economic conditions, but also by the transformation of the geographical structure of exports, the emergence of new competitors, world prices fl uctuations in and other factors. A brief review of bilateral trade between South Africa and Russia and the main directions for the development of Russian-South African trade and economic cooperation is given.