September 29, 2005

South Africa corn harvest update

South Africa reported that its 2005 corn harvest currently stands at about 9.43 million tonnes.

This is slightly above the previous week's figure of 9.39 million tonnes.

Despite fears of a harvest shortfall, as figures released from the SA Grain Information Service (Sagis) fall markedly below official data, officials have stood by their estimates of 12.8 million tonnes of corn for this year. 

One reason for the lower Sagis figure may be because farmers are storing up corn or using it for animal feed rather than selling it on the market, said traders.

Corn prices were up slightly in quiet trade yesterday. White corn for delivery in December closed at R837.40 (US$131.40) a tonne, R5.40 higher from the previous week.