South Africa relies heavily on imported fuels to sustain local demand and keep exorbitant price hikes at bay.
The latest statistics provided by the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) reveal that South Africa purchased US$4.34 billion worth of crude petroleum from international suppliers in 2022, which would have equated to approximately R71.05 billion at the average exchange rate of R16.37/dollar during that year.
This ranks South Africa as the 34th largest importer of fuels in the world.
Meanwhile, the country only exported US$108 million (R1.77 billion) of locally made product in 2022 partly as a consequence of numerous refinery closures in recent years, resulting in a negative petroleum trade balance of US$4.23 billion (R69.25 billion).
The top five countries South Africa imported fuel from in 2022, as per the OEC, were:
| Country | Crude petroleum import value in 2022 | Share of total crude petroleum imports |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | R35.36 billion | 49.7% |
| Saudi Arabia | R25.21 billion | 35.5% |
| Angola | R6.24 billion | 8.8% |
| Ghana | R1.77 billion | 2.5% |
| Republic of the Congo | R1.77 billion | 2.5% |
South Africa’s top crude petroleum export destinations and import origins in 2022. Source: OEC
The real cost of petrol
The “real” cost of petrol can be viewed as the Basic Fuel Price (BFP) as this is the price South Africa pays other countries for a litre of propellant and the associated costs of transporting and insuring the product until it reaches local ports.
In June, the BFP per fuel type was:
- Petrol 93 – R12.76 per litre
- Petrol 95 – R13.10 per litre
- Diesel 0.05% – R12.59 per litre
- Diesel 0.005% – R12.77 per litre
This shows that the BFP only accounts for anywhere from 53-63% of the prices of petrol and diesel in the country, depending on the grade.
The remaining 37-47% is made up of other costs accrued as soon as the fuels touch down on domestic shores, such as secondary storage and distribution, wholesale and dealer margins, and, importantly, taxes and levies.
For June, secondary storage costs account for 36.6c/litre across all types of petrol and diesel in South Africa, and secondary distribution costs for 17.2c/litre.
Wholesale margins take up 69.8c/litre on petrol and a higher 89.61c/litre on diesel.
Retail margins, which are only applied to petrol as diesel prices are unregulated in South Africa, are pegged at R2.86/litre.
The various taxes and levies imposed on fuel – which comprises the general fuel levy, Road Accident Fund levy, IP tracer levy, customs and excise duties, petroleum products levy, and slate levy – collectively contribute another R6.23/litre on both petrol 93 and 95, and R6.12/litre on diesel 500ppm and 50ppm.
Finally, depending on the location of a given service station, a zone differential may also be tacked onto the price equation. In Gauteng, this is set at 82.8c/litre for all fuel types.
Altogether, these costs combine to become the prices we see at the pumps when topping up our cars.
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