During the World Steel Association's (worldsteel) 46th annual meeting held in New Delhi on October 10, worldsteel's director general Edwin Basson said that Africa has a huge potential for growth in terms of steel production and consumption. He went on to remark that, apart from some major steel producers in South Africa and in North Africa, there is no major steel producer in the other regions of the continent, despite its growing demand.
Mr. Basson underlined that in the past 10 years steel demand in these regions has indicated a rapid growth rate, very similar to China's, though this is not so explicitly evident since the volume of the Chinese steel demand is incomparably far greater. Noting that this increasing steel demand growth is currently being met by steel traders, Basson said Africa would also witness growth in steel production in the years to come supported by its significant raw material resources.