THE steel being produced in Zimbabwe is formidable and competitive in the region, ArcelorMittal South Africa chief executive officer Mr Kobus Verster has said.
He warned that the country’s surging exports are positioning it as a major threat that South African firms cannot easily match.
“If you look at Zimbabwe, there you have a Government that really supports beneficiation. They have coke production, coke ownership. They have cheap electricity and they have iron ore,” Mr Verster said during a recent investor call.
“The ability of them to produce long steel or any steel at cost that we cannot compete with will be problematic going forward.”
His remarks come as the latest data from the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe show Zimbabwe’s steel export earnings in 2025 reached US$92,1 million from 146,314 tonnes, a 450 percent rise in value from US$16,7 million recorded in 2024.
The growth has been driven by rising output from the Dinson Iron and Steel Company plant in Manhize, which began production in 2024 and is scaling towards 600 000 tonnes annually.
“They are now at 600 000 tonnes roughly and once they stabilise and prove their capacity and quality, they will move into other ranges as well,” said Mr Verster.
The bulk of Zimbabwe’s exports are semi-finished and long steel products, including billets, pig iron and wire rod inputs, which fall outside the scope of some of South Africa’s recently tightened tariffs targeting finished structural steel imports from countries such as China and Thailand.
South Africa this month imposed duties of up to 74,98 percent on Chinese structural steel and 20,32 percent on Thai imports following findings of dumping, part of a broader policy response to mounting pressure on its domestic steel industry.
Imports account for about 36 percent of South Africa’s steel consumption, with Chinese products dominating supply. However, Zimbabwe’s exports, largely intermediate products feeding downstream manufacturing, are continuing to find entry into the South African market and the wider Southern African region, effectively sidestepping the most restrictive tariff measures.
This is happening at a time when South Africa’s steel producers are grappling with record import volumes and rising input costs.
Primary steel imports into the country reached 1,56 million tonnes in 2025, driven by a 514 percent surge in semi-finished products such as billets and slabs.
Industrialist Dr Nxaba Ndiweni said the export surge reflects a structural shift rather than a short-term trade opportunity, with Zimbabwe’s formidable competitive advantage proving decisive.
“Zimbabwe is not exporting into a vacuum. It is supplying into a regional market that is constrained on the supply side,” he said. “What makes the difference is that the country is producing at a lower cost base while aligning production with regional demand.”
Dr Ndiweni said the current focus on semi-finished steel is commercially strategic, as it allows Zimbabwean producers to plug directly into existing manufacturing ecosystems in South Africa and neighbouring markets.
“These products are critical inputs for downstream industries, so they move even in a protected environment. As capacity expands, the transition into finished products will further entrench Zimbabwe’s position,” he said.
Trade economist Mr Rodney Mupfudza said the tariff regime in South Africa is inadvertently reinforcing Zimbabwe’s role within the regional value chain.
“South Africa’s tariffs are primarily aimed at finished products, where dumping has been most evident,” he said. “What that does is create space for semi-finished imports, and Zimbabwe is well positioned to supply that segment.”
Mr Mupfudza noted that South Africa’s persistent scrap shortages and energy constraints are also sustaining demand for imported inputs.
“There is a structural deficit in feedstock for steel production in South Africa. Zimbabwe’s output is helping to bridge that gap, and that demand is unlikely to weaken in the short term,” he said.
Beyond pricing, Zimbabwe is also gaining traction through emerging low-carbon production technologies.
Research-linked innovations, including carbon composite pellets and modified iron-making processes, are reducing emissions and improving efficiency, positioning the country as a potential supplier of greener steel products.
This aligns with shifting investor preferences towards environmentally sustainable industrial projects and could provide Zimbabwe with an additional competitive edge as global and regional standards evolve.
The African Continental Free Trade Area framework further strengthens Zimbabwe’s position by lowering trade barriers and enabling producers to scale exports across the region more efficiently. Even so, analysts say sustaining the current growth trajectory will depend on continued infrastructure investment, reliable power supply and successful movement into higher-value steel products.
Zimbabwe’s steel sector is still in its early expansion phase, but the pace of growth and its ability to penetrate regional markets despite rising protectionism in South Africa point to a significant shift in Southern Africa’s industrial landscape.
As tariff walls rise against traditional exporters, Zimbabwe’s focus on semi-finished steel and formidable competitive production costs is allowing it to expand market share, signalling a new phase of regional competition anchored in beneficiation and cost efficiency.
