Imports & ExportsStart exporting

Africa

Export to South Africa

Africa's most industrial economy. Buys vehicles, medicines, rice and chemicals; NRCS approval for regulated goods.

Capital
Pretoria (executive capital)
Currency
ZAR
Trade agreement with India
None
Main ports
Durban, Cape Town, Ngqura / Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)

South Africa has no trade agreement with India; normal duties of the Southern African Customs Union apply. It is a large market for Indian vehicles, auto parts, medicines, rice, chemicals and footwear, and a base for reaching neighbouring countries. A large Indian-origin community lives around Durban and Johannesburg.

What it buys from India

  • Vehicles, auto parts and machinery
  • Petroleum products and chemicals
  • Medicines
  • Rice, footwear, textiles and garments

Import rules on their side

  • Products under compulsory specifications (for example electrical goods, some auto parts and building products) need a Letter of Authority from the NRCS before sale.
  • Plants and plant products need an import permit from South Africa's agriculture department and an Indian phytosanitary certificate.
  • Medicines need registration with SAHPRA; food labels must follow South African labelling regulations.

Practical tips

  • Durban is the main entry port and the hub of the Indian-origin trading community — a good place to start looking for buyers.
  • Africa's Big 7 food show in Johannesburg is a useful fair for food exporters.
  • Watch for anti-dumping duties on some Indian products; check the duty for your HS code with SARS.
Sources (4)
  1. South African Revenue Service — customs and excise
  2. National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS)
  3. WTO — Regional Trade Agreements database
  4. Department of Commerce — TradeStat export-import data bank

Trade data

India’s exports to South Africa in numbers

From the Department of Commerce’s TradeStat (Indian financial years, April–March), the country’s imports from the world from UN Comtrade, and its basics from the World Bank.

India’s exports here, 2025-26
US$ 7.01 bn
No. 16 of our 80 countries
Change from 2024-25
↓ -6.1%
US$ 7.46 bn → US$ 7.01 bn
Share of all Indian exports
1.59%
Its imports from the world
US$ 101.2 bn
2024 · India’s share 7.76%
2020-21: US$ 3.93 bn3.9k2020-212021-22: US$ 6.09 bn6.1k2021-222022-23: US$ 8.47 bn8.5k2022-23n/a2023-242024-25: US$ 7.46 bn7.5k2024-252025-26: US$ 7.01 bn7.0k2025-26
India’s exports to South Africa, year by year · US$ million · TradeStat’s 2023-24 country table is double-counted, so it is not shown

What India sells here most

By HS chapter, 2025-26. Change is against 2024-25.

Name2025-26Change
1Fuels and petroleum productsHS 27US$ 1.91 bn-32.1%
2Vehicles and partsHS 87US$ 1.87 bn+15.1%
3Medicines and pharmaHS 30US$ 716 mn+12.3%
4MachineryHS 84US$ 521 mn+41.6%
5Electrical and electronicsHS 85US$ 174 mn-51.2%
6PlasticsHS 39US$ 157 mn+4.7%
7Inorganic chemicalsHS 28US$ 97.7 mn+9.6%
8Organic chemicalsHS 29US$ 97 mn+8.9%
9Other chemical productsHS 38US$ 92.7 mn+4.6%
10RubberHS 40US$ 92.2 mn+11.8%
11Cereals (rice, wheat, maize)HS 10US$ 87.8 mn-10.2%
12Iron and steelHS 72US$ 79.6 mn+81.4%

What is rising and what is falling

Chapters where India sells at least US$ 5 million. Change from 2024-25 to 2025-26.

High demand

  1. Explosives, matchesUS$ 27.7 mn → US$ 58.3 mn+110.3%
  2. Iron and steelUS$ 43.9 mn → US$ 79.6 mn+81.4%
  3. MachineryUS$ 368 mn → US$ 521 mn+41.6%
  4. Iron and steel articlesUS$ 42.1 mn → US$ 54.4 mn+29.4%
  5. AluminiumUS$ 58.7 mn → US$ 71.7 mn+22.2%
  6. Paper and paperboardUS$ 46.2 mn → US$ 54 mn+17.1%
  7. Vehicles and partsUS$ 1.63 bn → US$ 1.87 bn+15.1%
  8. Medicines and pharmaUS$ 637 mn → US$ 716 mn+12.3%

Low demand

  1. Electrical and electronicsUS$ 357 mn → US$ 174 mn-51.2%
  2. Fuels and petroleum productsUS$ 2.82 bn → US$ 1.91 bn-32.1%
  3. Cereals (rice, wheat, maize)US$ 97.8 mn → US$ 87.8 mn-10.2%

Opportunity: what this country buys from the world, and from India

The country’s own recorded imports in UN Comtrade, 2024. Chapters with the biggest gap between what it buys from the world and what it buys from India.

Fuels and petroleum productsUS$ 19.6 bnIndia 12% · gap US$ 17.3 bn
MachineryUS$ 12.9 bnIndia 4.3% · gap US$ 12.4 bn
Electrical and electronicsUS$ 9.86 bnIndia 4.2% · gap US$ 9.44 bn
Vehicles and partsUS$ 7.13 bnIndia 21.1% · gap US$ 5.63 bn
PlasticsUS$ 2.89 bnIndia 5.5% · gap US$ 2.74 bn
Instruments, medical devicesUS$ 2.39 bnIndia 2.2% · gap US$ 2.34 bn
Other chemical productsUS$ 1.99 bnIndia 4.5% · gap US$ 1.9 bn
Gems, jewellery, precious metalsUS$ 1.83 bnIndia 2.5% · gap US$ 1.79 bn
Medicines and pharmaUS$ 2.42 bnIndia 27.6% · gap US$ 1.75 bn
Iron and steelUS$ 1.71 bnIndia 2.4% · gap US$ 1.67 bn

Our product guides that sell here

India’s exports of each product to this country, 2025-26.

Name2025-26Change
1Passenger carsUS$ 1.5 bn+20.2%
2Generic medicines (formulations)US$ 678 mn+10.9%
3Auto parts and componentsUS$ 102 mn-2.9%
4Readymade garmentsUS$ 93.2 mn-3.5%
5Non-basmati riceUS$ 56.5 mn-14.2%
6TyresUS$ 54.9 mn+3.4%
7TractorsUS$ 52.5 mn-13.3%
8Processed foodUS$ 48.2 mn+10.5%
9Diesel enginesUS$ 40.3 mn+176.8%
10Ceramic and vitrified tilesUS$ 36.5 mn-2.3%
11SpicesUS$ 33.7 mn-5.1%
12Dyes and pigmentsUS$ 33.6 mn-6.7%

The 20 biggest export lines

4-digit HS lines, 2025-26, with their Harmonized System descriptions.

Name2025-26Change
1Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crudeHS 2710US$ 1.88 bn-32.6%
2Motor cars and other motor vehiclesHS 8703US$ 1.5 bn+20.2%
3MedicamentsHS 3004US$ 678 mn+10.9%
4VehiclesHS 8704US$ 195 mn-1.8%
5Bulldozers, graders, levellers, scrapers, angledozers, mechanical shovels, excavators, shovel loaders…HS 8429US$ 132 mn+34.4%
6Motor vehiclesHS 8708US$ 102 mn-2.9%
7RiceHS 1006US$ 87.3 mn-10%
8New pneumatic tyres, of rubberHS 4011US$ 54.9 mn+3.4%
9TractorsHS 8701US$ 52.5 mn-13.3%
10PlasticsHS 3920US$ 50.8 mn+29.3%
11Machinery for sorting, screening, separating, washing, crushing, grinding, mixing or kneading earth, stone…HS 8474US$ 50.7 mn+20.2%
12BoilersHS 8402US$ 48.3 mn+762.9%
13Prepared explosives, other than propellent powdersHS 3602US$ 48 mn+180.1%
14Compression-ignition internal combustion piston enginesHS 8408US$ 40.3 mn+176.8%
15Sodium hydroxideHS 2815US$ 38.8 mn+2%
16Plastic plates, sheets, film, foil and strip in chapter 39HS 3921US$ 37.7 mn+5%
17Ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tilesHS 6907US$ 36.5 mn-2.3%
18Aluminium wireHS 7605US$ 32 mn+103.6%
19Odoriferous substances and mixtures with a basis of one or more of these substances, of a kind used as raw…HS 3302US$ 30.5 mn-5.2%
20Human bloodHS 3002US$ 27.1 mn+54.5%

What India buys from South Africa

India’s imports from this country in 2025-26 by HS chapter, from TradeStat — this country can be your supplier too.

India’s imports, 2025-26
US$ 8.56 bn
US$ 10.5 bn → US$ 8.56 bn
India’s exports, 2025-26
US$ 7.01 bn
Trade balance
−US$ 1.55 bn
exports minus imports
Change in imports
-18.8%
Name2025-26Change
1Gems, jewellery, precious metalsHS 71—-30%
2Fuels and petroleum productsHS 27—-12.4%
3OresHS 26—+9.8%
4PulpHS 47—-19.7%
5CopperHS 74—+24%
6Salt, stone, cementHS 25—+16.2%
7Iron and steelHS 72—-31.9%
8Fruit and nutsHS 08—+23.9%
9Organic chemicalsHS 29—-14%
10WoodHS 44—+73.8%

The country at a glance

Population
64.7 mn
2025
GDP
US$ 427.2 bn
2025
GDP per person
US$ 6,598
2025
Imports (goods and services)
US$ 126 bn
2025

Sources: TradeStat — Export Import Data Bank, Department of Commerce · UN Comtrade database (United Nations Statistics Division) · World Bank — World Development Indicators · Figures taken 29 October 2026.

What to send to South Africa

All products →

More in Africa