The latest Commodity Trade Observer report on South Africa’s low-voltage cable imports – from March 2024 to February 2026 – indicates that low-voltage cable imports have jumped 18% year-on-year reaching 19.27 million kilograms.
Countries of origin for low voltage cables imported March 2024 – February 2026. [Source: Commodity Trade Observer]
Average prices have fallen sharply from R161/kg to R129/kg, despite worldwide raw material and logistics cost increases.
South Ocean Electric Wire (SOEW) CEO, Andre Smith, has warned that the continuing flood of low-priced imports is fast hollowing out South Africa’s cable manufacturing sector and poses serious risks to infrastructure safety and job security.
SOEW, a subsidiary of JSE-listed South Ocean Holdings, is one of the country’s largest manufacturers and distributors of low-voltage electric wire, cable and accessories.
Smith said: “The data confirms what we have been seeing on the ground for some time. China has almost doubled its exports to South Africa, and we are now seeing individual shipments entering at prices as low as R3.00 per kilogram, levels that are simply not commercially viable for any legitimate, locally-compliant manufacturer.
“One trader brought in nearly 985 tonnes at R3/kg, which the report itself describes as a clear indication of illicit trade.”
South Africa imported a total of 35.57 million kilograms of low-voltage power cables over the two-year period, valued at R5.12 billion.
- In the period March 2024 to February 2025: 16.30 million kg were imported at a total value of R2.63 billion at an average of R161/kg.
- In the period March 2025 to February 2026: imports rose to 19.27 million kg, an increase of nearly 3 million kilograms – valued at R2.49 billion at a significantly lower average of R129/kg.
Smith said the report indicates that China has strengthened its position markedly as the dominant supplier of suspected inferior and non-compliant product. “Chinese exports almost doubled year-on-year. Portugal, Italy, Zambia and Poland followed in terms of kilograms exported to SA. Durban remained the primary port of entry, handling most of these imports.”
He noted that the report draws attention to concerning patterns among individual traders. Although the top 10 importers accounted for the bulk of volume, one trader imported 984 877 kg at an average price of just R3/kg, far below the market average and flagged in the report as a transaction that ‘should be investigated in more detail and reported to SARS for further review’. Another trader imported LV cables at R85/kg, about 50% below the overall average.
“Imports like these are undercutting local producers on price, and many of the products are entering the market without proper SABS compliance, using inferior materials and failing critical local safety standards.
“We have already documented widespread failures in household installations, commercial buildings and critical mining infrastructure, caused by non-compliant cables. The human and economic cost of such failures, from fires and downtime to lost productivity, is enormous,” says Smith.
He emphasised the broader impact on employment and the local value chain. “South Africa’s electrical cable industry supports thousands of direct and indirect jobs, from raw material suppliers to drum manufacturers and logistics service providers.
“When factories are forced to scale back or close because they cannot compete with dumped product, the ripple effect is devastating. Local manufacturers have the capacity in South Africa to supply most of the country’s needs with safe, fully tested, SABS-compliant cables. What is missing is decisive government action to protect the local industry.”
Smith called on government and SARS to act without delay: “We need urgent enforcement of existing standards, proper investigation of suspiciously low-priced shipments, and the implementation of targeted duties on dumped products – just as proved successfully in the automotive tyre manufacturing industry.
“Without intervention, we risk losing an entire manufacturing sector and the jobs that go with it. In parallel the safety of our electricity infrastructure is being compromised. As it legislates for localisation, South Africa must protect local industry and jobs, to prevent the unchecked importation of sub-standard non-compliant product.”
He said SOEW remains committed to supplying the market with high-quality fully compliant cables backed by its accredited testing laboratory and 35-year track record in the South African cable sector.
For more information visit: soew.co.za