SA maize harvest activity gaining ground
Spotlight on the domestic maize market
May 30, 2018
South African Agricultural Commodities Weekly Wrap-Up
June 1, 2018
Agbiz: SA maize harvest activity gaining ground
The harvest activity is gaining momentum in the irrigation areas around the country. This is reflected in the volumes of maize delivered to commercial silos in the week ending 25 May 2018, which amounted to 255 903 tonnes, up by 77 percent from the previous week.
About 67 percent of this was yellow maize, with 33 percent being white maize. The fact that a large part of maize delivered to commercial silos is yellow maize signals that the harvest activity is gaining ground also in the early planted areas in the eastern parts of the country (areas that predominantly plant yellow maize). The total maize deliveries for the four weeks of the 2018/19 marketing year are estimated at 561 275 tonnes.
More maize will be delivered in the coming weeks because the harvest activity will soon gain momentum across the dryland regions of the country, particularly the early planted areas in the eastern and central parts of South Africa. The weather forecast is quite favourable for the next two weeks, which bodes well with the harvest activity and could also support the areas where maize is at drying and maturing stages.
Our conversation with farmers, as well as reported yields in areas that have already harvested ranges between average and above average (yields), which supports that National Crop Estimates Committee’s view of 12.9 million tonnes of maize production this season.
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