Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition Briefed on the Implementation of Steel and Metal Fabrication Master Plan

The Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition engaged stakeholders from the steel industry on the progress made in implementing the Steel and Metal Fabrication Master Plan.

This stakeholder engagement follows a committee meeting with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), which was held on 6 May 2025 to ascertain the progress made in implementing the Steel and Metal Fabrication Master Plan, as part of its oversight function.

The committee agreed to meet with industry stakeholders to solicit their views on the implementation of the Master Plan thus far and to highlight any challenges facing the industry in this regard. It engaged various key associations across the value chain, namely:

• South African Iron and Steel Institute (SAISI),
• Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of SA (SEIFSA),
• International Steel Fabricators of Southern Africa (ISF),
• Steel Tube Export Association of SA (STEASA),
• Metal Recyclers Association (MRA),
• Recycling Association of SA (RASA),
• African Rail Industry Association (ARIA),
• South African Capital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC),
• South African Wire Association (SAWA), and
• Powerline and Substation Association (POLASA).

The industry welcomed the establishment of the Master Plan, which sought to ensure short-term survival of the industry and build ongoing support measures for the longer-term growth and sustainability of the industry.

While stakeholders noted that its implementation was, and continues to be critical for reindustrialisation, there have been few positive outcomes, particularly on the supply side, such as an increase in the quality of locally produced long steel and short steel, which led to increased investment; and standards revival and enforcement by the South African Bureau of Standards and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications respectively.

However, stakeholders noted that the Master Plan has not significantly addressed the key industry challenges it had identified. As a result, the industry continues to decline and experience job losses, particularly in light of changes in the geopolitical landscape.

Therefore, the industry continues to be adversely affected by increasing imports of steel, particularly from China, high production costs, including energy and labour costs, increasing transportation costs, continued importation of steel by State-Owned Enterprises instead of sourcing it locally, and the limited investment in infrastructure or signalling of such investment. These challenges have led to South Africa’s steel industry losing global competitiveness.

Industry highlighted the following challenges in the implementation of the Master Plan:

• A perceived disconnect between the DTIC and industry;
• Industry and government operating in silos, leading to the fragmented implementation of the Master Plan;
• Failure of State-Owned Enterprises, government departments and entities to drive demand for local steel products through their infrastructure projects;
• Decisive and coherent government policy and buy-in across the industry’s value chain; and
• Composition of the Master Plan Steering Committee, where representatives were from individual companies rather than industry associations.

There were also concerns expressed about importation of steel products at price levels equivalent to or lower than the cost of the inputs; lack of sufficient demand for steel in the country; and Measures implemented, such as the scrap metal interventions, namely the Price Preference System and export controls on scrap metal, are adversely affecting certain sub-sectors, including waste pickers, scrap metal dealers, the metal recyclers and steel producers.

The stakeholders made several proposals to turn around the decline of the industry. The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Mzwandile Masina, said:“Clearly, there is a need for a Steel Indaba to ensure that stakeholders, the DTIC and other relevant government departments and State-Owned Enterprises can develop short-term interventions to save the steel industry and for the industry to make inputs and proposals to the country’s industrial policy to address its long-term sustainability and contribution to the economy.

However, the necessary immediate interventions needed to support the industry should be urgently implemented in light of the geopolitical changes.”