T13 · Trade opportunity evidence

South Africa (ZAF) to Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD) steel, stainless: flat-rolled, width 600mm or more, cold-rolled or cold-reduced, of a thickness of 4.75mm or more (HS6 721931)

A country-to-country view of reported steel, stainless: flat-rolled, width 600mm or more, cold-rolled or cold-reduced, of a thickness of 4.75mm or more trade, combining buyer demand, exporter position, market structure, access conditions, and observed lane history.

Exporter South Africa (ZAF)Importer Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD)HS6 721931One-way tradeCoverage 2009-2024Slowing

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3-year buyer projection

$1.2MCalculated from reported demand

Exporter growth

-9.8%Full available history

Suppliers in market

7Latest reported count

Observed history

16 yearsLast year: 2024

Reported observations

What this steel, stainless: flat-rolled, width 600mm or more, cold-rolled or cold-reduced, of a thickness of 4.75mm or more lane shows for HS 721931

Core values for South Africa (ZAF) → Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD) in HS 721931.

Buyer market

Latest imports$593.3K

Five-year projection$1.8M

Buyer CAGR+48.3%

Latest annual change+203.5%

Exporter position

Latest exports$22.0K

Market share3.7%

Share change+0.1 pp

Best observed share92%

Market structure

Reported suppliers7

Concentration index8,485.7

Share gap+88.3 pp

SignalSlowing

Detailed evidence

Complete lane evidence

Reported values, calculated indicators, and country-pair context for this route.

Measure	Value	What it describes
Buyer imports	$593.3K	Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD)'s latest reported imports
Exporter exports	$22.0K	South Africa (ZAF)'s exports to Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD)
Exporter market share	3.7%	Exporter share of the reported buyer market
Buyer five-year CAGR	+48.3%	Annualized change in buyer imports
Exporter full-history CAGR	-9.8%	Annualized change in exporter exports
Three-year buyer projection	$1.2M	Calculated projection from reported demand
Five-year buyer projection	$1.8M	Calculated projection from reported demand
Average buyer imports	$463.9K	Average reported importer value
Peak buyer imports	$2.7M	Highest reported importer value
Average exporter exports	$69.2K	Average reported lane exports
Peak exporter exports	$483.8K	Highest reported lane exports
Share change	+0.1 pp	Latest one-year change in exporter share
Reported suppliers	7	Supplier countries observed in the latest period
Buyer GDP	$0.0	Latest buyer-country GDP estimate
Buyer GDP per person	Not reported	Latest buyer-country GDP per person
Buyer population	Not reported thousand	Latest buyer-country population estimate
Buyer investment rate	Not reported	Reported buyer-country investment rate
Buyer secondary education	Not reported	Reported secondary education coverage
Distance	Not reported km	Approximate country-pair distance
Business entry time	Not reported days	Reported days to start a business
Shared legal system	Not reported	Country-pair institutional relationship
Reported FTA	Not reported	Reported trade-agreement indicator
WTO member	Not reported	Buyer-country WTO membership indicator
Lane volatility	1.7	Variation indicator across observed lane values
Maximum drawdown	99.8%	Largest observed decline from a prior peak
Observed history	16 years	Coverage through 2024

Research reading

Steel, stainless: flat-rolled, width 600mm or more, cold-rolled or cold-reduced, of a thickness of 4.75mm or more demand and the South Africa (ZAF) to Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD) lane

Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD) reported $593.3K of steel, stainless: flat-rolled, width 600mm or more, cold-rolled or cold-reduced, of a thickness of 4.75mm or more imports in 2024. South Africa (ZAF) accounted for 3.7% of the observed market and reported $22.0K in exports on this lane.

The latest annual values eased slightly, while the longer available history shows +48.3% buyer growth and -9.8% exporter growth. The page separates reported values from projections and indicators.

Product classification

What does HS 721931 include?

HS 721931 covers Steel, stainless: flat-rolled, width 600mm or more, cold-rolled or cold-reduced, of a thickness of 4.75mm or more. This page studies the six-digit Harmonized System classification rather than a company, brand, retail category, or individual shipment.

The classification sits in HS chapter 72 and heading 7219. The recorded trade type is one-way trade, with a low price range classification in the available product reference data.

How to interpret this page

Compare demand, position, and history together

This HS 721931 trade opportunity page brings together the buyer market in Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD), the exporter position of South Africa (ZAF), and the observed conditions of their trade lane. A large buyer market does not by itself show that every exporter has equal access, and a positive growth rate does not remove the need to examine volatility and historical coverage.

Use the reported imports and exports to understand scale, market share to understand position, projections to understand the calculated forward view, and lane history to understand how much evidence supports the comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Questions about South Africa (ZAF) to Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD) steel, stainless: flat-rolled, width 600mm or more, cold-rolled or cold-reduced, of a thickness of 4.75mm or more trade

What is the HS code for this product?

This page covers HS 721931, the six-digit product classification shown in the trade records.

How large is the Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD) market?

The page reports the latest buyer imports, historical averages, peaks, growth, and calculated projections for steel, stainless: flat-rolled, width 600mm or more, cold-rolled or cold-reduced, of a thickness of 4.75mm or more.

How strong is South Africa (ZAF) in this market?

Exporter performance is shown through lane exports, market share, share change, growth, and the number of reported suppliers.

What should be checked before entering this market?

Review market scale, competition, access indicators, volatility, drawdown, and the available history together rather than relying on one signal.

Definitions and coverage

How to read this page

Reported values

Trade values describe reported merchandise trade for the stated HS6 classification. They are not company-level sales or shipment records.

Calculated indicators

Growth, projections, concentration, volatility, and share-gap figures are calculated from the reported observations and should be interpreted with their coverage period.

Coverage

This sample covers 16 observed years through 2024. Missing values are shown as not reported rather than estimated.

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Compare this product across markets and routes

Use the trade data and methodology pages to study other exporters, importers, and HS6 products.