T13 · Trade opportunity evidence

South Africa (ZAF) to Zimbabwe (ZWE) iron or steel (excluding cast iron): tubes and pipes (other than line pipe or casing of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines), welded (not longitudinally welded), having circular cross-sections, external diameter exceeds 406.4mm, (not seamless) (HS6 730539)

A country-to-country view of reported iron or steel (excluding cast iron): tubes and pipes (other than line pipe or casing of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines), welded (not longitudinally welded), having circular cross-sections, external diameter exceeds 406.4mm, (not seamless) trade, combining buyer demand, exporter position, market structure, access conditions, and observed lane history.

Exporter South Africa (ZAF)Importer Zimbabwe (ZWE)HS6 730539One-way tradeCoverage 2002-2024Growing

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3-year buyer projection

$1.4MCalculated from reported demand

Exporter growth

+6.8%Full available history

Suppliers in market

2Latest reported count

Observed history

23 yearsLast year: 2024

Reported observations

What this iron or steel (excluding cast iron): tubes and pipes (other than line pipe or casing of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines), welded (not longitudinally welded), having circular cross-sections, external diameter exceeds 406.4mm, (not seamless) lane shows for HS 730539

Core values for South Africa (ZAF) → Zimbabwe (ZWE) in HS 730539.

Buyer market

Latest imports$919.1K

Five-year projection$1.9M

Buyer CAGR+15.3%

Latest annual change+6,857.4%

Exporter position

Latest exports$25.3K

Market share2.7%

Share change-42.9 pp

Best observed share97.3%

Market structure

Reported suppliers2

Concentration index9,465.2

Share gap+94.5 pp

SignalGrowing

Detailed evidence

Complete lane evidence

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

Measure	Value	What it describes
Buyer imports	$919.1K	Zimbabwe (ZWE)'s latest reported imports
Exporter exports	$25.3K	South Africa (ZAF)'s exports to Zimbabwe (ZWE)
Exporter market share	2.7%	Exporter share of the reported buyer market
Buyer five-year CAGR	+15.3%	Annualized change in buyer imports
Exporter full-history CAGR	+6.8%	Annualized change in exporter exports
Three-year buyer projection	$1.4M	Calculated projection from reported demand
Five-year buyer projection	$1.9M	Calculated projection from reported demand
Average buyer imports	$64.5K	Average reported importer value
Peak buyer imports	$919.1K	Highest reported importer value
Average exporter exports	$14.8K	Average reported lane exports
Peak exporter exports	$64.2K	Highest reported lane exports
Share change	-42.9 pp	Latest one-year change in exporter share
Reported suppliers	2	Supplier countries observed in the latest period
Buyer GDP	$26.2B	Latest buyer-country GDP estimate
Buyer GDP per person	$1.7K	Latest buyer-country GDP per person
Buyer population	15,092.2 thousand	Latest buyer-country population estimate
Buyer investment rate	11%	Reported buyer-country investment rate
Buyer secondary education	64%	Reported secondary education coverage
Distance	2,186 km	Approximate country-pair distance
Business entry time	27 days	Reported days to start a business
Shared legal system	Yes	Country-pair institutional relationship
Reported FTA	Yes	Reported trade-agreement indicator
WTO member	Yes	Buyer-country WTO membership indicator
Lane volatility	1.2	Variation indicator across observed lane values
Maximum drawdown	99.9%	Largest observed decline from a prior peak
Observed history	23 years	Coverage through 2024

Research reading

Iron or steel (excluding cast iron): tubes and pipes (other than line pipe or casing of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines), welded (not longitudinally welded), having circular cross-sections, external diameter exceeds 406.4mm, (not seamless) demand and the South Africa (ZAF) to Zimbabwe (ZWE) lane

Zimbabwe (ZWE) reported $919.1K of iron or steel (excluding cast iron): tubes and pipes (other than line pipe or casing of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines), welded (not longitudinally welded), having circular cross-sections, external diameter exceeds 406.4mm, (not seamless) imports in 2024. South Africa (ZAF) accounted for 2.7% of the observed market and reported $25.3K in exports on this lane.

The latest annual values eased slightly, while the longer available history shows +15.3% buyer growth and +6.8% exporter growth. The page separates reported values from projections and indicators.

Product classification

What does HS 730539 include?

HS 730539 covers Iron or steel (excluding cast iron): tubes and pipes (other than line pipe or casing of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines), welded (not longitudinally welded), having circular cross-sections, external diameter exceeds 406.4mm, (not seamless). 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 73 and heading 7305. The recorded trade type is one-way trade, with a high price range classification in the available product reference data.

How to interpret this page

Compare demand, position, and history together

This HS 730539 trade opportunity page brings together the buyer market in Zimbabwe (ZWE), 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 Zimbabwe (ZWE) iron or steel (excluding cast iron): tubes and pipes (other than line pipe or casing of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines), welded (not longitudinally welded), having circular cross-sections, external diameter exceeds 406.4mm, (not seamless) trade

What is the HS code for this product?

This page covers HS 730539, the six-digit product classification shown in the trade records.

How large is the Zimbabwe (ZWE) market?

The page reports the latest buyer imports, historical averages, peaks, growth, and calculated projections for iron or steel (excluding cast iron): tubes and pipes (other than line pipe or casing of a kind used for oil or gas pipelines), welded (not longitudinally welded), having circular cross-sections, external diameter exceeds 406.4mm, (not seamless).

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 23 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.