The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) urged the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) not to extend the scrap metal export ban, which was planned to end in December 2023.

According to the statement from the SEIFSA president, the original purpose of the ban was to avoid scrap metal theft. However, the measure didn't consider the overall steel industry perspective. The ban only benefits a group of producers where scrap metal is used as an input. Besides, unlike iron ore, the scrap market doesn't have a mechanism similar to a Price-Preference-System (PPS). Therefore, it can't create fair market competitiveness.