freshandtinnedfruitsconstitute 40percentofimports fromSouthAfrica. Japan's mainimports fromSouthAfricaarecoal,goldandotherprecious metals, fruit,vegetables andgrain. InthecaseoftheUnited Kingdom, diamonds, metal ores,fruits, vegetables andgrainsconstitute thebulkoftheimports. TheUnited States' imports fromSouthAfricaarepredominantly platinum metals andmetal ores.51/Itissignificant thatabouttwothirdsofItaly's impo~ts fromSouth Africaaregoldforusein~bejewellery industry, withalmosthalfoftheoutput ofthelattergoingtotheUnite~States. In1988,theUnitedStatesimported over $1billion worthofgold,silverorplatinum jewellery fromItaly.511 ~outh Africaranitslargest tradesurplud withItalyin1988,nearly$1.5billion (see paras.161and225). 110.SouthAfrica's imports reflect thecountry's heavydependence onforeign sources ofcapital goodsandtechnology. It~imports frommostofitstrading partners arepredominantly vehicles andtransport ~quipment, machinery andtools, electrical andelectro ..licgoods, andchemicals. fillMotorvehicles represent 35percentofimports fromtheFederal Republic ofGermany. Orriceequipment components, digital computers, aircraft andaircraft components Rretheprincipal imports fromtheUnitedStates. Overall, asignificant shiftinregional tradeis takingplace, atrendthatwasalready described intheprevious reportofthe Special Committee. IIIAstheNordicStates, theUnitedStotes andthe Commonwealth StatesreducetheirtradewithSouthAfrica, someForEastern and West~rn European Statesaretakingtheirplace. In1988Taiwan, province ofChina, andHongKongsignificantly increased theirtrade. ~IAlthough thepicture is morecomplex inEurope, Belgium, France, Italy,Luxembourg, theNethel1ands, Spain andSwitzerland allshowedmajorincreases intheir1988tradefigures. Between thefirstsixmonthsof1987andthefirstsixmonthsof1988,TRiwan, province of China,increased tradewithSouthAfricaby110percent;Switzerland by 98percent;theFederal Republic ofGermany by50percent;Turkey by47percent; Spainby46percent;Franceby39percent;andtheUnited Kingdom by 38percent.'uringthesameperiod, Switzerland's imports fromSouthAfrica incronsed by233percent(fromSUR71million to$238million) andthoseof Taiwan, province ofChina, by153percent(from$Z44to$618million), while exports toSouthAfricaofTurkeyincreased seventimes«(rom$1to$9million); of Spainby78percent(from$41to$74million); ofPortugal by76percent(from $7to$12million); andofIsraelby69percent(from$19to$49million). 5JI 111.Itshouldbenotedthatreported merchandise tradefigures mayunderst.atp the lota1 V~lueoftradewithSouthAfricabyexcluding imports ofmonetary goldfrom thatcountry. TheStandard International TradeClassification an~ilsrevisions, whichtheUnitedNations Economic andSocialCouncil hasrecommended ar.thebasis onwhichMemberStatesshouldreportdataontheirexternal trade,excludes monetary goldfrommerchandise tradestatistics, although countries mayreportthiR tradeseparately iftheysodesire..§j21 1t2.According tofigures published inmid-1989 bytheEuropean Commission, the UniledKingdol;" in1988imported £3,681million (approximately $6,557million) worth ofmonetary ~oldfromSouthAfrica, theequivalent ofahoutthreequarters ofSouthAfrica's annualgoldproduction. Theinclusion oftheseimports bringstheUnited Kingdom's import. fromSouthAfricain1988to£4,485million ($7,989million), fiveand~nehalftimesthefigureof£804million ($1,432million) formerchan~\ae imports reported bytheUnitedKingdom's Department ofTrade.AllDatearenot available estore-exports ofgoldfromtheUnitedKingdom in1988. 113.Closemonitors ofsanctions ilnplementation haveobserved that,ingeneral, it ismoredifficult tostopsalestoSouthAfricathanitistostopimports from thatcountry. Competition forexportmarkets iskeen,andmanyexporters areready totakeovermarkets vacated byotherexporters. Thisisparticularly thecase duringperiods ofeconomic stagnation orrecession, aswellasinpresent conditions ofincreasing protectionism onth&partofsomelargeindustrial nations. Table3showsthatexports toSouthAfricaincreased in1986and1987,in reverse ofthe1985reductions. Table3.Exports toSouthAfrica, 1980and1984to1987 (Inmillions ofUnitedStatesdollars) il..81 13676 12168 8118 8891 11190 Source. "r~itedNationsStatistical Office. 114.Theincrease intradebetween SouthAfricaandsomeofitstrading partners In recentyearsunderscores theneedtoexamine tradesanctions inordertodevise mechanisms thatmaytighten andstrengthen them,andthereby increase their effectiveness. Thespeedwithwhichanynewmeasures arei~plemented isalsoan important factorl theSouthAfrican economy shouldnothavethetime,asithashad
**Analysis**
The text primarily focuses on the economic aspects of South Africa's trade, particularly its imports and exports, and the impact of sanctions on its economy. It also touches on the importance of natural resources, such as gold, and the country's reliance on foreign sources of capital goods and technology. Given the emphasis on economic development, international trade, and natural resources, it is likely that the text falls under two categories.

**Category**
International trade, Economic development