Dam levels show slight improvement.

The recent update for the week ending 04 September 2017 shows that dams averaged 34% in the Western Cape province, which is a 1% improvement from last week, but 28% lower than the corresponding period last year.

Highlights in today’s morning note

Wheat:

The winter wheat crop is in fair conditions in some parts of the Western Cape province following the past few week’s showers, albeit being insufficient to replenish soil moisture. Meanwhile, in the Free State province, the crop is in fair to poor condition due to persistent dryness.  

Maize:

There are positive prospects regarding the new season maize crop which should commence in October. A recent report from the South African Weather Service shows that the north-eastern parts of the country could receive above normal rainfall between October and December 2017. This coincides with the planting period and could aid seed germination. 

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Soybeans:

The data calendar for the rest of the week is fairly light, and it is an off season period with not much activity in the fields. Therefore, market performance will, again, largely be guided by the Chicago soybean price and domestic currency movements within the next few days.  

Sunflower seed:

It is an off season period for South Africa’s sunflower seed and this week’s calendar is light with no major data releases. Therefore, the market will most likely be driven by the domestic currency movements and traded volumes in the local market.

RSA Potatoes:

The South African potatoes market lost ground during Friday’s trade session with the price down by 3% from the previous day, closing at R39.43 per pocket (10kg). These losses were partly on the back of relatively large stocks of 849 679 pockets (10kg bag) at the start of the session.

RSA Fruit:

The fruit market ended the day mixed on Friday’s trade session. The price of oranges was up by 1% from the previous day, closing at R2.81 per kilogramme due to strong buying interest. Meanwhile, the prices of apples and bananas were down by 6% and 2% from the previous day, closing at R7.50 per kilogramme and R5.81 per kilogramme, respectively.