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Cape Town - South Africa will put pressure on steel producer ArcelorMittal SA and petrochemicals firm Sasol to reduce prices, according to Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.
He said this would be to help cut input costs in the steel, platinum and polymer industries by up to 15%.
The SA government is pushing to revitalise industrial capacity by encouraging companies to add value to minerals by means of beneficiation before exporting them.
"We've got to ensure that the mineral inputs are available at a competitive price, a lower price in South Africa than it is available outside of this country," Davies said in parliament this week.
"If ArcelorMittal were able to reduce current prices by 10% then I think that would amount to a very significant injection into industries using steel product," he said.
A similar 10% to 15% discount for polymers at Sasol would also benefit downstream manufacturers, he added.
Competition authorities fined the petrochemicals group R543m in June for excessively pricing its propylene and polypropylene products.
Both are key ingredients in the making plastic buckets and motor car parts.
Sasol is appealing the fine.
