South Africa’s cable manufacturing sector is warning that the crisis caused by substandard imported power cables is spreading beyond its own industry, placing additional pressure on critical upstream suppliers such as PVC producers, wooden drum manufacturers and steel wire suppliers.
According to Tertius Ness, chief operating officer at South Ocean Electric Wire (SOEW), the unchecked influx of imported cables is not only undercutting local cable makers but also damaging the industries that supply vital raw materials.
“When local cable factories are forced to scale back or close, the impact ripples outward. Steel mills, plastics manufacturers and wooden drum suppliers all lose business. This cascading effect is already visible in factories posting losses and, in some cases, shutting down,” says Ness.
PVC producers are particularly exposed. Cable insulation relies heavily on locally manufactured PVC compounds, and any reduction in domestic cable output immediately translates into lower demand for PVC. Similarly, wooden drum manufacturers, responsible for producing the spools used to transport and deploy cables, are facing shrinking order books as imports bypass local supply chains. For steel wire producers, which provide reinforcement materials for cable structures, the decline in orders has become another pressure point on an industry already challenged by Chinese steel imports, Ness adds.
“The renewable energy sector highlights these dynamics. While South Africa is embarking on large solar and wind projects, much of the equipment, including cables, is imported, predominantly from China,” Ness explains.
“We are missing the opportunity to build a strong, localised renewable energy value chain,” he adds. “Instead of creating jobs and investment, we are exporting them. Every imported cable means fewer orders for our PVC suppliers, fewer drums made by local woodworkers, and less steel wire consumed by South African mills.”
This challenge is not unique to cables. The South African tyre industry has already felt the sting of import dumping, with Goodyear’s recent factory closure in the Eastern Cape resulting in significant job losses. The steel industry, too, has raised alarms over cheap imports undermining local production capacity.
Industry experts argue that the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) must play a stronger role in enforcing product standards and ensuring imported goods do not bypass testing and certification processes, Ness explains.
“South Africa cannot afford to stand by while critical industries are hollowed out,” he warns. “We need stronger enforcement of standards, fairer trade measures, and a real commitment to support local manufacturing. Otherwise, we risk not only losing cable factories, but also undermining the steel, plastics, and wood sectors that supply them.”