South Africa’s cement imports strengthened further in July 2026, increasing by 7.0% from June and 91.5% y-y to 159,918 tons. This lifted imports for the first seven months of 2026 to 909,046 tons, up 24.4% y-y, a marked acceleration from the 15.8% increase recorded for the first half of the year. Imports through Cape Town surged by more than 65% in the seven month period, although Durban remains the dominant gateway, contributing 74% of total imports. Although Vietnam remains dominant, imports from chinese linked Mozambique has increased by 24% to more than 62 000 tons between January and July 2026.