Maize harvest process could be completed by end of this month

• The cool and drier weather conditions over most parts of South Africa have provided support to the harvest process in the past couple of weeks. Given the progress made thus far, which is reflected in producer deliveries data, we believe that the harvest process could be completed by end of this month.
• In the week of 17 August 2018, maize producer deliveries amounted to 561 278 tonnes, down by 14 percent from the previous season, as the harvest process slows towards completion. About 71 percent of this was white maize, with 29 percent being yellow maize.
• This placed South Africa’s 2018/19 maize marketing year producer deliveries at 9.9 million tonnes, which equates to 75 percent of the estimated harvest of 13.2 million tonnes.  The yields in areas that have harvested largely varied between average and above average, which is somewhat in line with market expectations. While we expect the harvest process to be over within the next few weeks, more maize will be delivered in the coming months as producers bring the commodity to the marketplace.
• Today the focus will be on weekly grain trade data which is due for release at midday. South Africa exported 35 380 tonnes of maize in the week of 10 August 2018, down by 45 percent from levels seen in the previous week. About 84 percent was yellow maize, with 16 percent being white maize. The leading buyer was Japan with a share of 76 percent and the rest went to regional markets. Overall, this placed South Africa’s 2018/19 maize exports at 1.07 million tonnes, which equates to 42 percent of the seasonal export forecast.

Click HERE to read the full report by Wandile Sihlobo