Posted: 30 October 2025
Against a backdrop of ongoing industrial decline, South Africa’s stainless steel industry is positioning itself for renewal through strategic collaboration, export focus, and an Africa-first growth vision. These were the key themes emerging from the Sassda State of the Stainless Steel Nation Breakfast, where industry leaders gathered to assess the sector’s current health and future prospects.
From Decline to Opportunity
For over a decade, South Africa’s broader steel industry has been in decline, undermined by falling demand, policy inconsistency, and infrastructure inefficiencies. Yet amid the gloom, stainless steel has shown signs of resilience.
Speaking at the event Sassda Executive Director Michel Basson commented, “While the traditional steel industry has faced enormous structural and operational pressures, stainless steel has quietly been writing its own comeback story. Our challenge now is to move from survival to strategic growth, both locally and across Africa.”
The contrast between the carbon and stainless sectors is stark. Domestic steel consumption has plummeted from 9.4 million tons in 2004 to just over 4.1 million tons in 2024, due to de-industrialisation and weak infrastructure spending. By comparison, stainless steel consumption has grown steadily since the pandemic; outpacing GDP and proving its value in high-tech and high-hygiene sectors like food processing, energy, and specialised manufacturing.
Basson emphasised that stainless steel’s versatility and durability position it as a key enabler in sectors aligned with sustainability and circular-economy principles. “We’re not just producing metal; we’re supplying the materials that make modern, efficient industries possible, from renewable energy to water treatment and clean manufacturing.”
Policy and Production Pressures
The breakfast discussion laid bare the multiple headwinds facing local producers: high energy tariffs, logistics bottlenecks, and an uneven playing field against cheap, subsidised imports, particularly from China.
Load-shedding and port delays continue to disrupt supply chains, while tariff interventions under the 2021 Steel Master Plan have had mixed results. Rather than boosting competitiveness, they have often inflated input costs and stifled innovation.
The sector’s energy intensity remains a major concern. Outdated blast furnace technologies persist in carbon steel production, while the transition toward electric arc furnaces and low-emission processes has been slow. Meanwhile, new environmental regulations, including the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), are tightening the screws on carbon-heavy exports.
Stainless Steel Master Plan
In response, Sassda is spearheading a Stainless Steel Master Plan, a roadmap aimed at guiding the sector through 2030. The plan is built around five phases, beginning with comprehensive stakeholder engagement and deep structural analysis by the end of 2025. Subsequent stages will define strategic priorities, design actionable programs, and roll out implementation across the value chain from 2026 onward.
The plan’s core message is clear: domestic demand alone cannot sustain the stainless steel industry. Export readiness, market intelligence, and technical excellence will determine long-term survival.
“We must become a nation of exporters again,” Basson said. “Our members need access to intelligence, certification, and training that make them globally competitive. The African market is not an afterthought; it’s the growth frontier.”
Unlocking Africa’s Industrial Upside
The second half of the breakfast focused on that very frontier. Africa House Director Duncan Bonnett delivered an in-depth presentation. His message was both pragmatic and optimistic: Africa’s urbanisation and industrial expansion are rewriting the continent’s demand profile and South Africa has a window of opportunity to capture value.
“Africa is urbanising faster than any other region in the world,” Bonnett noted. “By 2035, the number of large cities will more than double, from 128 to around 300 and their combined population will approach 800 million. That creates enormous infrastructure and supply-chain needs, and stainless steel is integral to meeting them.”
He pointed to the rise of agri-processing, food manufacturing, and value-added export industries as particularly promising for stainless steel applications. Africa holds 60% of the world’s unused arable land, yet much of its agricultural output still leaves the continent unprocessed. Governments from Angola to Côte d’Ivoire are now restricting raw exports and incentivising local production. “We’re seeing a clear shift from raw material extraction to value creation,” Bonnett said.
Infrastructure, Energy, and Technology
Africa’s infrastructure boom presents further opportunities. Major port, rail, and corridor projects, from the Lobito Atlantic Corridor to new east-west logistics routes are connecting inland resource hubs to global markets. Simultaneously, a wave of investment in energy projects, from renewables to nuclear, is driving demand for durable, corrosion-resistant materials.
Bonnett highlighted that energy diversification, mixing fossil fuels, renewables, and circular systems, requires stainless steel in everything from pipelines and turbines to hydrogen storage. “The clean energy transition isn’t just about megawatts; it’s about materials. Stainless steel has a central role in that value chain.”
ICT infrastructure is another fast-emerging segment. With data centre development accelerating across Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, stainless steel is being used in structural frameworks, cooling systems, and secure enclosures. Combined with growth in mining and local mineral processing, particularly for critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, these trends are widening the continent’s industrial base.
Trade and Market Access: The AfCFTA Advantage
South Africa currently exports about R570 billion in goods to Africa each year, mostly to SADC countries. Yet its presence in East and West Africa remains limited. Bonnett argued that this imbalance represents untapped potential, especially as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) continues to reduce tariffs and streamline market access.
“AfCFTA is not just a trade deal, it’s an industrial platform,” he said. “Once the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System come fully online, we’ll be able to transact in local currencies, reducing forex risk and opening new pathways for small and medium exporters.”
He called for South African manufacturers to invest in compliance, logistics, and localised partnerships. “If we’re serious about regional integration, we must move from talking about Africa as a market to engaging it as a network,” Bonnett said.
Collaboration as the Key to Competitiveness
Both Basson and Bonnett emphasised that success will depend on collaboration across the value chain, from policymakers and producers to academia and end users. Innovation, cleaner technologies, and strategic advocacy must all converge if the sector is to thrive.
“Industrial competitiveness isn’t built in isolation,” Basson concluded. “It’s built through partnerships, shared intelligence, and the courage to invest in the future.”
Despite its challenges, South Africa’s stainless steel sector stands on the threshold of renewal. With global sustainability trends aligning with African industrialisation, and with coordinated action under Sassda’s Master Plan, the industry has an opportunity to reclaim its role as a cornerstone of modern manufacturing.