Operator
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Merafe Resources Limited’s Interim Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this event is being recorded.
I will now hand over to the CEO, Zanele Matlala. Please go ahead, ma’am.
Zanele Matlala
CEO & Executive Director
Good morning, and welcome to the Merafe Interim Results Presentation. The operating environment continued to be volatile and uncertain, mainly due to geopolitical tensions, which led to oil price shocks. At Merafe, the uncertainty was mainly due to the smelters being idled whilst negotiations regarding electricity tariffs were underway. Thankfully, a positive outcome was achieved with NERSA approving tariffs of ZAR 0.62 per kilowatt hour in May 2026. Despite the challenging and uncertain environment, Merafe’s profits were higher for the 6 months to June 2026.
If we look at the market, global stainless steel production increased by 3% to 33.2 million tonnes. This increase was largely driven by China, Japan and Indonesia. Global ferrochrome demand also increased by 4%. And as expected, the growth came from China and Indonesia. Global ferrochrome production increased by 10% with China increasing by 32%. The increase in China’s production was primarily driven by the continued ramp-up of low-cost production, supported by competitive power costs and access to ore. On the other hand, South African production decreased by 69% due to suspension of smelters. Chrome ore imports into China increased by 42%. Of these imports, 79% came from South Africa.
If we look at pricing, prices across the 3 commodities
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