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Agriculture

Agbiz predicts comfortable maize supplies

───   CHRISTAL-LIZE MULLER 10:45 Thu, 19 Jul 2018

Agbiz predicts comfortable maize supplies | News Article

The Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) predicts that South Africa's maize supplies for the 2018/19 marketing year points to comfortable levels of domestic supplies.


In a media release, Agbiz agricultural economist, Wandile Sihlobo, says South Africa's 2018/19 maize supplies could reach 16.7 million tonnes. Data from the national Supply and Demand Estimates Committee shows this is well above the local demand of 10.8 million tonnes.

Sihlobo says preliminary weather forecasts for the upcoming production season, which commences in October, are not favourable. Data from the International Research Institute for Climate Society shows a 60%  possibility of an El Niño occurrence in the coming season. This boils down to a higher chance of South Africa experiencing a drier season.

Meanwhile, the harvest process is in full swing across the country. More than 780 000 tonnes were delivered in the week of July 13. It is down by 14% from the previous week. Sihlobo says in previous months the harvest progress was mainly in the central- and eastern parts of the country in which yellow maize was mainly produced. Delivery now is however widespread, as reflected by higher white maize deliveries.

Of the more than 780 000 tones delivered in the week of July 13, about 56% was white maize and 44% yellow maize.

He says the total maize deliveireis for the firs 11 weeks of the 2018/19 marketing year are estimated at 5.9 million tonnes. This equates to 45% of the estimated harvest of 13.2 million tones.

Sihlobo says more maize will be delivered in the coming weeks, as the expected cool and drier weather conditions in most areas in the country could provide conducive conditions to the harvest process.

Maize harvesting in the eastern parts of South Africa is mostly done, while in the western regions the crop is still wet due to the late start of the rain season.

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