February 23, 2015

South Africa to see lower corn harvest in 2015

With dry weather condition affecting South Africa's corn farms, the country may see a lower harvest of 10.5 million tonnes in 2015 from 14.25 million tonnes in 2014, a Bloomberg News survey reported.

The figure is based on a median of estimates by five analysts and measures on a range of 9.9 million tonnes to 11 million tonnes. It also calculates against 2014's harvest, South Africa's largest in more than three decades.

According to the farmers' cooperative Grain SA, the country's Free State and North West provinces are not getting enough rain, a worrying factor as these regions account for 64% of 2014's corn harvest. Crops could still be rescued if more than 20 millimeters of rain came last weekend, the body said.

Concerns over the effects of drought on 2015's corn harvest have led to a recovery of prices, with yellow corn prices increasing for five straight weeks. Prices have so far risen 12% this year, with those for export increasing 1.6% to US$209/tonne by midday Friday on the South African Futures Exchange.

While white corn prices have risen 28% so far, its export value dipped 1.4% to US$236.12/tonne for the third consecutive day last weekend.