Pretoria, October 6, 2025 — South Africa’s Competition Tribunal has found that Cape Gate participated in a price-fixing arrangement in the market for the purchase of scrap metal.
In its ruling, the Tribunal held that Cape Gate, along with other major steel producers, colluded to fix the purchase price of scrap metal, a key input in the production of steel products. The conduct was found to violate section 4(1)(b)(i) of the Act, which prohibits agreements between competitors to fix prices.
According to the Tribunal, Cape Gate was part of a buyers’ cartel that collectively determined the prices paid to scrap merchants. The other companies were ArcelorMittal South Africa, Columbus Stainless, and Scaw South Africa, who admitted liability and entered into settlement agreements with the Competition Commission (CompCom), which were later confirmed by the Tribunal. Scaw applied for corporate leniency, assisting the authority’s investigation.
The CompCom argued that the coordinated use of a shared pricing formula and premium amounted to collusive conduct that undermined fair competition in the scrap metal market. Although Cape Gate denied the allegations, the Tribunal rejected its defences and confirmed that the company had engaged in prohibited price-fixing.
Further proceedings will determine the appropriate remedies and penalties to be imposed on Cape Gate. The Commission noted that the cartel conduct ended in 2008, following its investigation into the industry.
