Cape Town, South Africa: The African lubricant market is not a dumping ground for lubricants that are not fit-for-purpose, said stakeholders at the 10 th ICIS African Base Oils and Lubricant Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. “Lubricant oils that do not meet minimum quality standards should not be allowed into the African continent,” said Siva Konar, Market Segment Manager, Middle East and Africa at Azelis. Konar explained that the limited base oils manufacturing capacity on the African continent should not be an excuse for dumping substandard products on the continent’s lubricant market. “It does not mean that because you don’t have base oil capacity, you must consume substandard quality,” Konar added, noting that “you should import good quality as defined by the base oil categories with the right saturate levels sulphur levels, not base oils that are being produced without the proper processes and systems.” For his part, Dr. John Erinne, chief executive officer of Matrix Patro-chem Limited
Lagos, Nigeria, said that dumping of substandard finished lubes on the African lubricant market is a cause of concern to stakeholders. “As per finished lubes, I agree that Africa is not a dumping ground for substandard products. Nigeria is at the receiving end of an influx of substandard finished lubes, and I understand that it is beginning to manifest in South Africa,” Erinne emphasised. “Africans have no option but to continue to import base oils from other parts of the world because we don’t have the capacity to produce base oils.”

Similarly, Cliff Classen, Managing Director of Penthol Pty Limited acknowledged that substandard finished lubes are beginning to manifest in the South African lubricant market. He explained that end users bear the brunt of substandard finished lubes because “they think they are using the right engine oil, but it is fake”. Cliff explained that most end users only realise that they have bought substandard finished lubes when they take their cars in for servicing.

Africa has no dumping ground for lubricants — By Our Reporter