The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has confirmed to Pretoria News that Longkou Fanlin Cement had been approved for sale in the country.
However, the mandate is only part of the process the Chinese cement producer needs to secure to allow it to import cement into the country.
Thato Chabeli, the interim group manager of marketing, public relations and communications at SABS, confirmed to local press that ‘two schemes’ for Longkou Fanlin Cement had been approved by the SABS.
He added that the trade body had not received any other applications from Chinese cement producers.
SABS certifies cement as being compliant with the South African compulsory specifications before it can be sold in the domestic market.
However, Chabeli added that the Chinese cement producer also needed to secure a letter of approval from the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) before the company would be permitted to export its cement to South Africa. The NRCS has not responded to queries by local press on the matter.
Industry commentators have compared potential cement imports from China to those of Pakistan. Local cement producers filed a dumping complaint with the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) about cement imported into South Africa from Pakistan. ITAC imposed duties ranging between 14.29 and 77.15% on cement imported from Pakistan.
Subsequently, cement imports to South African from Pakistan fell by 30% year-on-year. The Pakistan government has approached the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for arbitration.
