Swaziland imports see large growth

Last year, Swaziland imported products worth over E21 billion from South Africa, China, United State…

Last year, Swaziland imported products worth over E21 billion from South Africa, China, United States of America, Qatar and other main trading partners.

South Africa, the country’s neighbour, raked in more money compared to the other countries, as goods estimated at E1.9 billion were sourced there followed by Qatar with E640 million products.

According to the East3 Route economic report 2015, Swaziland imported products totalling E300 million from the United States of America adding that from China, imports reached E318 million.

The report stated that other countries where the country sourced products and goods from were India, Zambia, Germany and Thailand. The imports, according to the report, comprised motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, food stuffs, petroleum products and chemicals.

Meanwhile, the report noted that Swaziland’s main export commodities included soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruits.

Adding, the report said the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) was E45.6 billion (|US$3.8bn) in 2014, recording the growth rate of 2.1 percent from 2.8 percent in 2013 and 1.9 percent in 2012.

It stated that with the GDP estimate of E104bn (US$8.7bn) in 2014, the country ranks 161 out of 222 countries tracked by the CIA.

The report said due mainly to its small population size, the economy was impressively open to international trade, but would need to work on the trade deficit so as to address domestic unemployment issues.