Wheat crop urgently needs moisture.

Highlights in today’s morning note

Wheat:

Overall, the Western Cape crop is not in good shape and urgently needs moisture in order to develop well this season. In terms of dam levels – the recent update for the week ending 24 July 2017 shows that dams averaged 26% full, compared to 50% in the same period last year. More emphasis is placed on the Western Cape province because it is the main dryland winter wheat producing region of South Africa.

Maize:

The harvest process is in full swing with reports of exceptional yields across the country. The process could gain momentum this week due to forecast warm and dry weather conditions in the maize belt. Recent data from the South African Supply and Demand Estimates Committee shows that the country’s 2017/18 total maize supplies could reach 16.31 million tonnes.

Soybeans:

Data from the South African Supply and Demand Estimates Committee shows that the country’s soybean supplies for the 2017/18 season could reach 1.41 million tonnes. This includes an opening stock of 84 792 tonnes for this season, commercial deliveries of 1.31 million tonnes and a small volume of imports. Overall, this is 30% higher than the previous season.

Click here to read full report.

Sunflower seed:

South Africa’s sunflower seed supplies could reach 993 306 million tonnes this season (2017/18). This figure includes opening stock of 163 086 tonnes and commercial deliveries of 821 970 tonnes, amongst other variables . This essentially means that this season’s supplies will be 13% higher than the 2016/17 season.

RSA Potatoes:

The South African potatoes market lost ground in Friday’s trade session and closed in negative territory due to relatively large stocks of 1.15 million bags (10kg pockets/bag). The price was down by 1% from the previous day, closing at R28.31 per 10kg pocket.

SAFEX beef:

In Friday’s trade session, there was not much happening in the SAFEX beef carcass market. The price remained unchanged from the previous day, closing at R46.00 per kilogramme. However, it is worth noting that the SAFEX beef carcass prices could differ from the physical market due to thinly traded volumes at the stock exchange.

RSA fruit:

On Friday, the fruit market ended the day mixed. The price of apples was up by 7% from the previous day, closing at R6.94 per kilogramme. The oranges market gained 8% from the previous day, closing at R3.33 per kilogramme due to strong buying interest. Meanwhile, the price of bananas was down by 2% from the previous day, closing at R6.85 per kilogramme.