Extreme Import Bottlenecks
The tables below show South Africa's import sources for HS product codes where a single source country accounts for >= 80% of total imports and the import value is >= 10,000,000 USD. Only data for the most recent available year is displayed. If you want more data, visit the Country Matrix.
South Africa
57 bottlenecks| # | Partner | HS Code | HS Description | Year | Share (%) | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 8401 | Nuclear reactors; fuel elements (cartridges), non-irradiated, for nuclear reactors, machinery and apparatus for isotopic separation | 2025 | 99.98% | 102,203,928 |
| 2 | Namibia | 0104 | Sheep and goats; live | 2025 | 99.76% | 38,621,129 |
| 3 | Mozambique | 2716 | Electrical energy | 2025 | 99.67% | 193,736,256 |
| 4 | Zimbabwe | 2610 | Chromium ores and concentrates | 2025 | 99.59% | 22,478,443 |
| 5 | USA | 7118 | Coin | 2025 | 99.15% | 28,756,235 |
| 6 | Australia | 2818 | Aluminium oxide (including artificial corundum); aluminium hydroxide | 2025 | 97.29% | 728,270,387 |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 0105 | Poultry; live, fowls of the species Gallus domesticus, ducks, geese, turkeys and guinea fowls | 2025 | 96.34% | 16,999,305 |
| 8 | China | 9617 | Vacuum flasks and other vacuum vessels, complete with cases; parts thereof other than glass inners | 2025 | 95.82% | 24,272,763 |
| 9 | Germany | 7115 | Articles of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal | 2025 | 95.68% | 10,346,655 |
| 10 | Lesotho | 5101 | Wool, not carded or combed | 2025 | 94.95% | 42,006,853 |
| 11 | China | 3827 | Mixtures containing halogenated derivatives of methane, ethane or propane, not elsewhere specified or included | 2025 | 94.88% | 15,613,764 |
| 12 | China | 6004 | Fabrics; knitted or crocheted fabrics of a width exceeding 30 cm, other than those of heading 60.01, containing by weight 5% or more of elastomeric yarn or rubber thread | 2025 | 94.47% | 33,626,668 |
| 13 | Switzerland | 9101 | Wrist-watches, pocket-watches, stop-watches and other watches; with case of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal | 2025 | 93.92% | 32,726,039 |
| 14 | China | 6001 | Fabrics; pile fabrics, including long pile fabrics and terry fabrics, knitted or crocheted | 2025 | 93.69% | 40,263,054 |
| 15 | China | 8104 | Magnesium; articles thereof, including waste and scrap | 2025 | 93.63% | 20,370,049 |
| 16 | China | 2823 | Titanium oxides | 2025 | 92.87% | 20,327,050 |
| 17 | Eswatini | 4403 | Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared | 2025 | 92.01% | 13,234,670 |
| 18 | China | 5516 | Woven fabrics of artificial staple fibres | 2025 | 90.40% | 18,572,555 |
| 19 | China | 9616 | Scent sprays and similar toilet sprays and mounts and heads therefor; powder-puffs and pads for the application of cosmetics or toilet preparations | 2025 | 90.32% | 11,390,474 |
| 20 | China | 6301 | Blankets and travelling rugs | 2025 | 90.16% | 13,507,001 |
| 21 | China | 6108 | Slips, petticoats, briefs, panties, nightdresses, pyjamas, negligees, bathrobes, dressing gowns and similar articles; women's or girls', knitted or crocheted | 2025 | 89.72% | 62,922,695 |
| 22 | China | 6212 | Brassieres, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters and similar articles and parts thereof; whether or not knitted or crocheted | 2025 | 89.23% | 45,041,477 |
| 23 | China | 8513 | Lamps; portable, electric, designed to function by their own source of energy (e.g. dry batteries, accumulators, magnetos), excluding lighting equipment of heading no. 8512 | 2025 | 88.86% | 15,042,963 |
| 24 | China | 9505 | Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including conjuring tricks and novelty jokes | 2025 | 88.86% | 11,634,183 |
| 25 | China | 5311 | Woven fabrics of other vegetable textile fibres; woven fabrics of paper yarn | 2025 | 88.26% | 16,542,626 |
| 26 | China | 8541 | Semiconductor devices (e.g. diodes, transistors, semiconductor based transducers); including photovoltaic cells assembled or not in modules or panels, light-emitting diodes (LED) assembled with other LEDs or not, mounted piezo-electric crystals | 2025 | 88.18% | 238,652,539 |
| 27 | China | 5407 | Woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn, including woven fabrics obtained from materials of heading no. 5404 | 2025 | 87.38% | 225,605,493 |
| 28 | China | 7604 | Aluminium; bars, rods and profiles | 2025 | 87.37% | 109,179,064 |
| 29 | Finland | 8710 | Tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles; motorised, whether or not fitted with weapons, and parts of such vehicles | 2025 | 87.04% | 30,304,883 |
| 30 | Switzerland | 2402 | Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes; of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes | 2025 | 86.62% | 73,703,917 |
| 31 | Italy | 6807 | Asphalt or similar material; articles (e.g. petroleum bitumen or coal tar pitch) | 2025 | 86.18% | 14,783,735 |
| 32 | Zimbabwe | 7207 | Iron or non-alloy steel; semi-finished products thereof | 2025 | 85.73% | 77,373,945 |
| 33 | Eswatini | 4401 | Fuel wood, in logs, billets, twigs, faggots or similar forms; wood in chip or particles; sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms | 2025 | 85.54% | 43,977,048 |
| 34 | China | 8215 | Cutlery; spoons, forks, ladles, skimmers, cake-servers, fish-knives, butter knives, sugar tongs and similar kitchen or tableware | 2025 | 85.41% | 10,007,771 |
| 35 | China | 8521 | Video recording or reproducing apparatus | 2025 | 85.18% | 17,944,242 |
| 36 | China | 8806 | Unmanned aircraft | 2025 | 85.01% | 20,598,165 |
| 37 | Argentina | 2304 | Oil-cake and other solid residues; whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extraction of soya-bean oil | 2025 | 84.84% | 44,899,630 |
| 38 | China | 6911 | Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles; of porcelain or china | 2025 | 84.76% | 17,010,975 |
| 39 | China | 6005 | Fabrics; warp knit (including those made on galloon knitting machines), other than those of headings 60.01 to 60.04 | 2025 | 84.43% | 33,732,892 |
| 40 | Namibia | 7108 | Gold (including gold plated with platinum) unwrought or in semi-manufactured forms, or in powder form | 2025 | 84.12% | 1,240,359,166 |
| 41 | China | 6505 | Hats and other headgear; knitted or crocheted, or made up from lace, felt or other textile fabric, in the piece (but not in strips), whether or not lined or trimmed; hair-nets of any material, whether or not lined or trimmed | 2025 | 83.86% | 54,959,182 |
| 42 | China | 7117 | Imitation jewellery | 2025 | 83.23% | 34,909,958 |
| 43 | Zimbabwe | 2704 | Coke and semi-coke; of coal, lignite or peat, whether or not agglomerated; retort carbon | 2025 | 83.23% | 147,729,240 |
| 44 | Norway | 0302 | Fish; fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304 | 2025 | 83.10% | 29,603,071 |
| 45 | China | 9405 | Luminaires and light fittings; including searchlights, spotlights and parts thereof, n.e.c.; illuminated signs, name-plates and the like, having permanently fixed light source and parts thereof n.e.c. or included | 2025 | 83.07% | 125,868,623 |
| 46 | France | 4416 | Casks, barrels, vats, tubs and other coopers' products and parts thereof, of wood, including staves | 2025 | 82.46% | 16,081,157 |
| 47 | China | 7411 | Copper tubes and pipes | 2025 | 82.23% | 18,806,245 |
| 48 | China | 2842 | Salts of inorganic acids or peroxoacids, n.e.c. including aluminosilicates whether or not chemically defined, but excluding azides | 2025 | 81.44% | 16,459,778 |
| 49 | China | 8509 | Electro-mechanical domestic appliances; with self-contained electric motor, other than vacuum cleaners of heading 85.08. | 2025 | 81.42% | 43,278,970 |
| 50 | China | 6209 | Garments and clothing accessories; babies' (not knitted or crocheted) | 2025 | 81.37% | 15,009,024 |
| 51 | Namibia | 0102 | Bovine animals; live | 2025 | 80.81% | 27,405,032 |
| 52 | Thailand | 1006 | Rice | 2025 | 80.40% | 467,022,787 |
| 53 | USA | 2843 | Colloidal precious metals; inorganic or organic compounds of precious metals, whether or not chemically defined; amalgams of precious metals | 2025 | 80.37% | 86,354,107 |
| 54 | Zimbabwe | 2401 | Tobacco, unmanufactured; tobacco refuse | 2025 | 80.34% | 82,407,484 |
| 55 | China | 4820 | Registers, account books, diaries and similar; albums for samples or collections, of paper or paperboard | 2025 | 80.30% | 13,428,755 |
| 56 | China | 7412 | Copper; tube or pipe fittings (e.g. couplings, elbows, sleeves) | 2025 | 80.25% | 30,075,983 |
| 57 | China | 2839 | Silicates; commercial alkali metal silicates | 2025 | 80.09% | 15,119,767 |
China: 32 occurrences
Zimbabwe: 4 occurrences
Namibia: 3 occurrences
Eswatini: 2 occurrences
Germany: 2 occurrences
Switzerland: 2 occurrences
USA: 2 occurrences
Argentina: 1 occurrence
Australia: 1 occurrence
Finland: 1 occurrence
France: 1 occurrence
Italy: 1 occurrence
Lesotho: 1 occurrence
Mozambique: 1 occurrence
Norway: 1 occurrence
Thailand: 1 occurrence
United Kingdom: 1 occurrence
Legend:
Highlight - the row matches a Danger Zone country and/or a Critical Goods HS code.
ABCBold red partner name - the import source country is flagged in the Danger Zone.
1234Bold lime HS code - the product code is flagged in Critical Goods.