A large share of the 2017/18 maize crop has already been delivered to commercial silos, hence the weekly producer deliveries have slowed in the recent weeks.
In the week of 12 October 2018, maize producer deliveries amounted to 33 063 tonnes, well below the previous weeks’ volume. About 55 percent of this was white maize, with 45 percent being yellow maize.
- This placed South Africa’s maize producer deliveries at 11.2 million tonnes, which equates to 87 percent of the 12.9 million tonnes harvest for the 2017/18 production season. While the harvest was well below the 2016/17 production season, the yields were quite good in most areas, varying between average and above average.
- Today the focus will be on the weekly grain trade data which is due for release at midday. South Africa exported 57 974 tonnes of maize in the week of 05 October 2018, well above the previous week’s volume of 15 697 tonnes. This placed South Africa’s 2018/19 maize exports at 1.4 million tonnes, which equates to 61 percent of the seasonal export forecast of 2.3 million tonnes.
- In terms of the new production season, the weather forecast for the next two weeks looks favourable, with prospects of between 16 and 60 millimetres over the maize-belt. This should improve soil moisture and therefore benefit the maize planting process.
- With that said, the medium-term weather outlook remains a key concern as weather forecasters suggest that there is a 70 percent chance of an El Niño occurrence later in summer, which might negatively affect the crop.
