The Crop Estimates Committee said that farmers may harvest 11.2 million tonnes of corn this year, below last year's 12.7 million tonnes. That beat the 10.8 million-tonne median estimate of eight traders surveyed by Bloomberg News.

 

White corn has declined by a third to 1,631 rand (US$164) a tonne from the peak of 2,441 rand on June 30 last year. Meal made from the grain is the staple food of many South Africans.

 

The white-corn crop may fall to 6.53 million tonnes, and the harvest of yellow corn is seen to decline to 4.69 million tonnes, the committee said.

 

Farmers may reap 368,875 tonnes of soy, a gain of 31 percent, while the groundnut crop may rise 5.8 percent to 93,910 tonnes, the report shows. The sorghum harvest may climb 5.1 percent to 268,100 tonnes, and dry-bean production may increase 3.1 percent to 60,790 tonnes, the committee said.

 

On the other hand, the government raised its forecast for this season's wheat crop by 0.5 percent to 2.09 million tonnes. The committee left its barley and canola forecasts unchanged at 194,399 tonnes and 32,300 tonnes, respectively.