SA Maize harvest process could soon be completed

• he cool and drier weather conditions over most parts of South Africa have provided support to the harvest process over 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 soon be completed.
• In the week of 24 August 2018, maize producer deliveries amounted to 390 905 tonnes, down by 30 percent from the previous week, as the harvest process slows towards completion. About 72 percent of this was white maize, with 28 percent being yellow maize.
• This placed South Africa’s 2018/19 maize marketing year producer deliveries at 10.3 million tonnes, which equates to 78 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 due to favourable weather conditions, 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 57 141 tonnes of maize in the week of 17 August 2018, up by 61 percent from levels seen in the previous week. About 91 percent was yellow maize, with 9 percent being white maize. The leading buyer was Vietnam with a share of 83 percent and the rest went to regional markets. This placed South Africa’s 2018/19 maize exports at 1.1 million tonnes, which is about 44 percent of the seasonal export forecast.

Sourced: Agbiz, Agribusiness Research

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