Spain again a leading buyer of SA maize

• The weather forecasts have changed overnight and currently shows a possibility of dry and cool weather conditions over the South African maize-belt within the next two weeks. This bodes well for the crop ahead of the harvest process in dryland areas. There could, however, be light showers in parts of Mpumalanga and Free State provinces within the next eight days, but that might have minimal impact on the crop as the week thereafter promises cool conditions.
• Furthermore, the maize harvest process, currently underway in the irrigation areas of the country, could gain momentum within the next two weeks. Overall, South Africa is in for a relatively good maize harvest in the 2017/18 production season, estimated at 12.8 million tonnes. While lower than the previous season’s harvest, this is well above the long-term average production of 12.0 million tonnes.
• In terms of trade, South Africa started the 2018/19 marketing year on good footing with exports amounting to 65 753 tonnes, which equates to 3 percent of seasonal forecast. About 96 percent was white maize, with the rest being yellow.The leading buyer was Spain, accounting for an 81 percent share of weekly maize exports.
• This is the second consignment of maize leaving for Spain this year. It is unclear whether this will be utilised in animal feed or human consumption. The typical supplies of maize to Spain are Brazil, US, Ukraine, France, Romania, Canada and Bulgaria, amongst others. Almost all these countries largely produce yellow maize. Therefore, it is possible that Spain will utilise the imported volume in animal feed market.
• Also worth noting is that over the past 5-years, Spain imported on overage, about 6.4 million tonnes of maize a year. Hence, this could be a good long-term market for local farmers as South Africa is typically a net exporter of maize.

Read full report by Wandile Sihlobo below:

Agbiz Morning Market Viewpoint on Agri-Commodities 09 May 2018