of the stainless steel nation

the export potential for the local industry with considerable effect on the local producer of stainless steel products.

2 . Please can you give some other meaningful stats relating to how the industry has performed over the last 12 months?

In the graph above it is evident that the pandemic has impacted the local industry since 2020.

Note that apparent consumption was already declining before 2019 due to the weak local economy and that 2020 was merely a continuation of this movement. During 2021, this trend was reversed with improvements in local production and exports. There was also robust local demand leading to increased imports of flat products in 2021.

The statistics for 2021 were strong enough to cause a gradient switch in the trendline, however, the final results for 2022 were disappointing. The trend line switched back to a negative with both local production and exports shrinking. During the 2022 period, the exports of flat products declined to the lowest levels since this measurement was initiated in 2012. This decline in exports is mainly due to restrictions on the volumes for export to Europe that were initiated after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

3 What are the key global and local sectors that have the greatest potential to drive demand for South African stainless steel and what role does the renewed interest in the concept of localisation by government have to play in this regard?