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The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci’s) Copper Theft Barometer decreased to a level of R12-million in July, down from R12.2-million in June and R15.4-million in May.
This was the second monthly drop since February, with Sacci expressing hope that this reflected the strengthening of the downward trend that started in June.
“The outlook for reductions in copper theft levels for 2014 is now more positive than before, but remains a concern. Sacci is heartened to see more municipalities proactively setting up specialist units to combat copper theft and making use of various communication channels like social media to enlist the help of communities in this important endeavor,” the chamber commented.
Further, the Copper Theft Volume Indicator dropped to 158 t in July, compared with 166 t in June and 214 t in May.
Sacci pointed out that the international average monthly spot price of copper slipped to $7 008 in August from $7 117 in July 2014.
In addition, South African exports of waste copper products dropped slightly to $24.6-million in June, compared with $25.7-million in May.
“A recent policy suggestion in the ongoing public debate on cable theft was to ban copper waste exports in order to fight copper theft. Sacci believes this policy innovation is likely to be counterproductive as it could create a perverse incentive to mislabel exports.
“It is also important to note that South Africa already has a system of export restrictions on waste metal in place,” the chamber noted.