South Africa’s primary steel import (carbon, alloy and stainless steel) data for August 2025 points to a sharp increase in inbound steel volumes, raising important questions about domestic capacity and competitiveness, according to a release by the South African Iron & Steel Institute (SAISI).
The release says total imports of primary steel products rose by 53.76% compared to August 2024, reaching 130 385 tons. In total 84 800 tons were imported in 2024. This growth reflects the country’s growing reliance on imported steel to meet local requirements.
Key developments contributing to the increase are that carbon steel imports increased by 46.63%, maintaining the largest share of total imports, alloy steel rose by 69.23%, indicating ongoing substitution in specialised applications and stainless steel imports surged by 113.58%, pointing to rising dependence on foreign supply in this critical segment.
Product trends
Significant jumps were recorded in billets, blooms and slabs which rose by +1 259.61% and forged bars by +1 101.67%, suggesting more semi-finished steel entering the market – possibly displacing local production. Similarly, strong gains in painted and plastic-coated sheet (+208.99%) reflect steady demand in downstream industries increasingly served by imports rather than domestic mills.
Conversely, imports of wire rod (-86.33%) and electro-galvanised sheet (-49.72%) declined, showing uneven dynamics across product categories.
For South Africa’s steel sector, these figures underscore a critical challenge: Ensuring that import growth does not come at the expense of local manufacturing and industrial resilience. SAISI says it
continues to monitor these developments and advocate for a balanced trade environment that supports sustainable domestic production.
Other figures
Imports of intermediate products in alloy steel declined fractionally from 430 tons in 2024 to 427 tons in 2025, carbon steel increased from 250 tons in 2024 to 6 771 tons and stainless steel dropped from 27 tons in 2024 to 1 ton.
Sections and bars in alloy steel rose to 3 541 tons in 2025 from 2 495 in 2024, in carbon steel they declined slightly to 6 209 tons from 6 406 tons in 2024.
Flat products in alloy steel climbed to 26 191 tons in 2025 from 145 896 tons in 2024, in carbon steel they went from 57 304 tons to 80 799 tons and in stainless steel from 2 109 tons in 2024 to 5 201 tons in 2025.
