The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ms Alexandra Abrahams, yesterday met with the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mark Blair, and senior leadership of the Mr Price Group, as part of ongoing engagements aimed at strengthening South Africa’s clothing and textile sector and addressing the structural challenges undermining domestic manufacturing competitiveness.
The meeting forms part of Abrahams’ continued work following concerns raised earlier this year regarding alleged non-compliant garment manufacturing operations in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, as well as broader concerns relating to illegal manufacturing activity, supply chain integrity, and unfair competition within South Africa’s domestic clothing and textile industry.
Discussions focused on strengthening supply chain accountability, improving ethical sourcing standards, increasing enforcement against illicit and illegal manufacturing activity, and addressing the broader structural constraints limiting South Africa’s ability to compete effectively within regional and global manufacturing markets.
A central theme emerging from the engagement was the urgent need to improve the competitiveness of South African manufacturers by reducing the cost of doing business, improving infrastructure reliability, and creating a more efficient operating environment that enables businesses to expand and invest with confidence. Industry-wide challenges relating to compliance costs, labour, and the role of local government in improving the ease of doing business also featured prominently in discussions.
The meeting reinforced the importance of stronger cooperation between retailers, regulators, law enforcement agencies, and government departments to ensure illegal operators are prevented from exploiting workers, evading regulatory standards, and undermining compliant businesses operating within the formal economy.
Abrahams and industry leadership further discussed the growing impact of international fast-fashion platforms whose expanding presence continues placing substantial pressure on local manufacturers and exposing weaknesses in South Africa’s trade enforcement environment.
A further area of focus centred on the need to modernise industrial policy frameworks governing the sector. Discussions highlighted the importance of ensuring that existing policy instruments support competitiveness, provide long-term investment certainty, strengthen productive capacity, and remove unnecessary barriers that prevent local businesses from scaling and creating sustainable employment opportunities.
Abrahams welcomed Mr Price Group’s commitment to continued cooperation with government in strengthening transparency, compliance, and accountability across the broader retail and manufacturing ecosystem.
the dtic remains committed to working alongside industry stakeholders to build a competitive, transparent, and sustainable clothing and textile sector capable of driving industrial growth, expanding local productive capacity, and creating sustainable employment opportunities for South Africans.
The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ms Alexandra Abrahams with the CEO of Mr Price Group, Mr Mark Blair, Group Director for Sustainability, Mr Natasja Ambrosio, and Group Environmental, Social and Governance Director, Ms Janice Cheadle
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
Tel: (012) 394 1643
Mobile: 079 5083 457
WhatsApp: 074 2998 512
E-mail: BLukhele@thedtic.gov.za
Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
Follow us on X: @the_dtic
https://www.facebook.com/thedti?mibextid=ZbWKwL
https://www.youtube.com/@thedtic
Share this:
