November 5, 2012

South Africa's white corn and yellow corn prices increased 10% and 14% respectively on-year as global stocks are still tight due to the impact of US drought.

As farmers usually reacts positively on higher prices, Post forecasts a 5% increase in corn area for the 2012-13 marketing year (MY) (2013-14 MY for South Africa).

Post forecasts that commercial farmers will plant about 2.8 million hectares of corn and subsistence farmers 500,000 hectares. This will, based on a national average yields, result in a crop of about 12.7 million tonnes and 2.4 million tonnes of exports.

The final estimate for the area planted and production of corn by commercial and subsistence farmers for the 2011-12 MY (the 2012-13 MY in South Africa) was recently released by the Crop Estimates Committee's (CEC).

According to the CEC, South Africa's final estimated total corn crop for the 2011-12 MY was 12.1 million tonnes, 11% more than in the 2010-11 MY on a 10% increase in hectares planted.

Commercial farmers planted 2.7 million hectares of corn, 13% more than in the 2010-11 MY, yielding a crop of 11.5 million tonnes and subsistence farmers planted about 442,114 hectares of corn, marginally less than the previous season, and produced 638,463 tonnes of corn.

South Africa already exported 920,153 tonnes of corn in the first six months of the 2011-12 MY and Post estimates that total exports could reach 1.8 million tonnes.