The National Crop Estimate Committee revised its maize production estimates up by 2% from the previous month to 15.97 million tonnes. This means South Africa would, ideally, export roughly 4.0 million tonnes of total maize this year. However, weak global demand for white maize could lead to relatively lower exports of 2.2 million tonnes – leaving a large carry-over stock.

Figures released this afternoon by the National Crop Estimate Committee shows that 2017 total summer grains production could reach 18.44 million tonnes, which is a 96% annual increase. White and yellow maize production estimates were revised up, respectively, by 0.43% and 4.83% from the previous estimate to 9.51 million and 6.46 million tonnes. In total, reaching a record level of 15.97 million tonnes.

Apart from the dry beans production estimate which was revised up by 1.87% from last month, all other estimates were left unchanged. The harvest process is virtually over across the country and many areas reported exceptional yields, particularly on soybeans and maize, which support the CEC’s view of record crops.

Click here to read more.

In terms of winter crops – the preliminary area estimate for wheat shows that farmers planted 498 850 hectares, which is 1.87% less than the previous season. Today’s data shows that South Africa will be well supplied this season and maize prices could remain at relatively lower levels for some time.  

The post Farmers expecting record maize harvest. appeared first on Agri Limpopo.

The most anticipated of all was the National Crop Estimate Committee’s sixth production estimate which showed a 2% m/m upward revision in maize production estimate to an all-time high of 15.97 million tonnes. Other commodities were left unchanged from the previous month.

In terms of market performance, all grain and oilseed commodities were under pressure with the exception of sunflower seed. For fruits and vegetables, the week has been fairly volatile, driven by changes in volumes traded.

Click here to read more.

The post South African Agricultural Commodities Weekly Wrap – 28 July 2017. appeared first on Agri Limpopo.

Maize:

Interesting to note is that the International Grains Council (IGC) is even more optimistic on South Africa’s maize production, estimating the overall crop at 16.4 million tonnes, compared to 7.8 million tonnes in the previous season. The harvest process is in full swing with reports of exceptional yields across the country. The process could gain momentum within the next two weeks due to expected warm weather conditions in the maize belt.

Wheat:

The South African Weather Service noted that there is a possibility of wetter conditions in the south western parts of the country between August and October 2017. This will be a welcome relief after weeks of dryness in the Western Cape province during the first half of their traditional rainy season.

Soybeans:

As indicated in our note yesterday, South Africa’s soybean supplies for 2017/18 season could reach 1.41 million tonnes. This includes an opening stock of 84 792 tonnes, as well as commercial deliveries of 1.31 million tonnes and a small volume of imports. This is 30% higher than the previous season.

Click here to read more.

Sunflower seed:

Although South Africa generally expects a good sunflower seed harvest this season, the areas that planted late in a season received lower yields of between 0.6 and 0.7 tonnes per hectare. The country’s sunflower seed production estimate is 821 970 tonnes, up 9% from the previous season.

RSA Potatoes:

Yesterday the South African potatoes market managed to claw back some of its recent losses with support coming from lower stock levels. The price was up by 0.49% from the previous day, closing at R28.45 per 10kg bag.

RSA fruit:

The fruit market started the week on a mixed footing. The prices of apples and bananas were up by 9.37% and 0.15% from the previous day, closing at R7.59 per kilogramme and R6.86 per kilogramme, respectively. The apples stocks were down by 9% from the previous day easing at 215 990 tonnes. At the same time, the bananas daily stocks fell by 23% to 157 050 tonnes. Meanwhile, the price of oranges fell by 16% from the previous day, closing at R2.79 per kilogramme. 

The post IGC more optimistic on South Africa’s maize production. appeared first on Agri Limpopo.

Soybeans:

The domestic soybean usage declined in June 2017, despite the increase in supplies. SAGIS data shows that in June 2017, South Africa’s soybean consumption (crushed oil and cake) fell by 22% from the previous month and 30% from the same period last year and eased at 72 095 tonnes.

Maize:

The total maize deliveries were reported at 806 246 tonnes in the week ending 28 July 2017, down 17% from the previous week. About 64% of this was white maize with 36% being yellow maize. This brought South Africa’s 2017/18 total maize deliveries for “week 1 to 13” to 12.39 million tonnes. Of this total, 58% is white maize and 42% is yellow maize.

Wheat:

The weather remains a key focus as the crop is still at early growing stages which require moisture. Unfortunately, the next eight days is likely to be no different from the previous few weeks of dryness. The forecasts only present a possibility of light showers in the coastal areas.

Click here to read more.

Sunflower seed:

The relatively lower sunflower seed prices have led to an increase in consumption or usage. As shown in SAGIS data for June 2017 that South Africa’s sunflower seed consumption (crushed oil and cake) increased by 48% month-on-month and 14% year-on-year in June 2017 to 68 482 tonnes.

RSA Potatoes:

In yesterday’s trade session the South African potato market pulled back from the previous day’s level and closed in negative territory. These losses followed a slight uptick in daily stocks to 932 055 bags (10kg bags) at the beginning of the session.

RSA fruit:

The fruit market ended the day mixed in yesterday’s trade session. The bananas and oranges prices were up by 7% and 11% from the previous day, closing at R6.19 per kilogramme and R3.33 per kilogramme, respectively. The price of apples lost 4% from the previous day, closing at R6.64 per kilogramme due to large stocks of 256 739 tonnes.

The post Domestic soybean usage declined. appeared first on Agri Limpopo.

Meanwhile, wheat and oilseeds markets ended the week in negative territory, largely pressured by lower international prices and relatively large domestic supplies – particularly for oilseeds.

For fruits and vegetables, the week has again been fairly wobbly with daily stock levels underpinning the market. Lastly, there was nothing much happening in the SAFEX beef market, prices remained flat from the levels seen last week.

Click here to read more.

The post Commodity markets paint mixed picture. appeared first on Agri Limpopo.

RSA Potatoes:

The South African potatoes market gained ground on Tuesday’s trade session with the price up by 5% from the previous day, closing at R30.08 per 10kg pocket. These gains were driven by lower stocks of 859 053 pockets (10kg) at the start of the session. However, during the session, the market saw an increase in deliveries on the back of ongoing harvest. This subsequently led to a 9% uptick in daily stocks to 933 080 tonnes.

Maize:

In terms of trade – South African maize exports fell by 47% in the week ending 04 August 2017 from the previous one and eased at 46 526 tonnes. This was mainly due to a decline in activity in the Kenyan and Taiwanese markets. About 86% of these exports were yellow maize, with 14% being white maize.

Wheat:

The new season crop is not in good shape due to persistent dryness in the Western Cape province. The weather models show that this week could remain dry and cool which will continue to strain the crop.

Click here to read more.

Soybeans:

There is still an underlying bearish sentiment in the domestic soybean market which stems from expected large production of 1.34 million tonnes, up 81% from the previous day.

Sunflower seed:

From a global front there is rising optimism in some EU countries regarding the 2017/18 season sunflower seed crop. France Farm Ministry forecasts a 6% year-on-year uptick in production of sunflower seed this season to 1.3 million tonnes.

RSA fruit:

The fruit market ended the day mixed on Tuesday’s trade session. The apples and bananas prices were down by 3% and 1% from the previous day, closing at R7.38 per kilogramme and R5.74 per kilogramme, respectively. Meanwhile, the price of oranges market gained 18% from the previous day, closing at R3.32 per kilogramme due to strong buying interest. 

The post South African potatoes market gains ground. appeared first on Agri Limpopo.

The weather remains a key focus in the South African wheat market as the crop is still at relatively early stages of development that require high moisture. However, this is mainly a concern in dryland areas such as the Western Cape province. The province has not received effective rainfall since the start of the season, thus soil moisture is extremely low.

South African Agricultural Commodities Weekly Wrap

Apart from the USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand report, domestic weekly grain and oilseed trade data, and the producer deliveries, this was a fairly quiet week in the South Africa agricultural commodities markets.

With that said, the weaker domestic currency and strong buying interest led to widespread gains in markets. This was with the exception of wheat which ended the week in negative territory, largely pressured by lower international prices.

For fruits and vegetables, the week has again been fairly volatile with daily stock levels underpinning the market. The SAFEX beef carcass market ended the week on a quiet note with prices unchanged from last week.

Click here to read more.

The post Weather remains a key focus in the South African wheat market. appeared first on Agri Limpopo.

SAFEX beef:

The beef market is slowly showing signs of normalisation after the 2015-16 El Nino-induced drought. Data from the Red Meat Levy Admin shows that South African farmers slaughtered 203 983 head of cattle in June 2017, up by 1% from the previous month. With that said, this is still 16% lower than the corresponding period last year (drought year with higher slaughtering rate). We will monitor the developments closely to determine the impact on prices.

Wheat:

The wheat crop is generally not in good shape due to persistent dryness in the Western Cape Province. The first part of last week was dry and warm across the province, but toward the end of the week, the Swartland region received showers of between 10 and 20 millimetres.

Maize:

Most areas of the country have already completed the harvest process. The ones that have not yet finished could get momentum from the expected drier and cool weather conditions within the next two weeks.

Click here to read more.

Soybeans:

The domestic soybean data calendar is light this week, therefore the market performance will largely be guided by the Chicago (soybean) price and domestic currency movements throughout the week. 

Sunflower seed:

From a global perspective – The USDA forecasts 2017/18 global sunflower seed production at 47.3 million tonnes, up 2% from the previous season. The uptick is due to expected large harvest in Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the EU countries.

RSA Potatoes:

The South African potatoes market saw marginal gains in Friday’s trade session with the price up by 0.24% from the previous day, closing at R28.91 per pocket (10kg). These gains came on the back of relatively lower stocks in the market.

RSA fruit:

The fruit market ended the day mixed on Friday’s trade session. The price of bananas was up by 3% from the previous day, closing at R5.95 per tonne due to strong buying interest. Meanwhile, the prices of apples and oranges fell by 1% and 15% from the previous day, closing at R7.31 per kilogramme and R2.90 per kilogramme, respectively. 

The post Beef market shows signs of normalisation. appeared first on Agri Limpopo.

RSA fruit:

The fruit market was once again mixed in yesterday’s trade session. The price of apples was down by 2% from the previous day, closing at R7.16 per tonne due to large stocks of 240 969 tonnes. Meanwhile, the other products managed to claw back the recent losses due to strong buying interest and a subsequent decline in daily stocks. The prices of bananas and oranges were up by 1% and 10% from the previous day, closing at R6.04 per kilogramme and R3.20 per kilogramme, respectively.

Maize:

In areas that have already harvested, farmers received exceptional yields which support the National Crop Estimate Committee’s view of a possible record crop of 15.97 million tonnes this season. This is well above the 2016/17 crop of 7.78 million tonnes and a long term average production of 12.50 million tonnes.

Click here to read more.

Wheat:

The weather forecast has changed drastically. It currently shows a possibility of rainfall of between 16 and 30 millimetres across the Western Cape province within the next two weeks. This will not be sufficient to improve soil moisture but could bring relief after weeks of dryness. In order to realise notable improvements, the province needs roughly 60 millimetres.

Soybeans:

In the absence of major data releases, the domestic soybean market performance will largely be guided by the Chicago (soybean) price and domestic currency movements throughout the week. 

RSA Potatoes:

Large daily potatoes stocks of 1.049 million pockets (10kg) at the start of yesterday’s trade session added bearish pressure to the market. The price ended the day in negative territory, down 2% from the previous day and closing at R28.32 per 10kg pocket.

The post Fruit market claws back recent losses. appeared first on Agri Limpopo.

South Africa’s maize exports saw a massive rebound in the week ending 11 August 2017. The country exported 111 287 tonnes of maize, well above the previous week’s exports of 48 529 tonnes. About 93% of these exports were yellow maize, with 7% being white maize.

Highlights in today’s morning note

Maize:

The leading buyer was Japan with a share of 90%, all yellow maize. The second largest buyer was Botswana with a share of 4%, largely white maize. Overall, South Africa’s 2017/18 total maize exports currently stand at 993 840 tonnes, which equals to 45% of the season export forecast (2.2 million tonnes).

Wheat:

The weather remains a key focus in the domestic market due as the crop is still at early stages of development. This season is about a month and a half behind schedule. The latest weather forecasts show a possibility of light showers within the next eight days across the southern parts of the Western Cape province. Although this is a welcome relief, it will not be sufficient to improve soil moisture and crop conditions.

Soybeans:

Although the South African soybean prices started the day on a positive footing with support coming from higher international soybean prices, the relatively strong domestic currency and bearish sentiment on the back of expected large supplies countered this movement towards the close of the session.

Click here to read more.

Sunflower seed:

Yesterday the domestic sunflower seed spot price spent most of the day in the red territory but managed to recover towards the end of the session. These gains were largely linked to an increase in buying interest towards the close of the session.

RSA Potatoes:

The South African potatoes market gained ground in yesterday’s trade session with the price up by 5% from the previous day, closing at R29.85 per 10kg pocket. These gains were driven by lower stocks of 831 265 pockets (10kg) at the start of the trading session.

SAFEX Beef carcass:

The SAFEX beef carcass market has not shown any notable movements this month due to thinly traded volumes. As a result, the price remains flat at R46.00 per kilogramme.

RSA fruit:

The fruit market saw widespread gains in yesterday’s trade session with support coming from a strong buying interest. The price of apples was up by 5% from the previous day, closing at R7.52 per tonne due to strong buying interest and a subsequent 14% decline in daily stocks to 208 159 tonnes. The prices of bananas and oranges were also up by 3% and 0.31% from the previous day, closing at R6.20 per kilogramme and R3.21 per kilogramme, respectively. These gains were largely on the back of lower stocks of 226 330 tonnes of bananas and 217 497 tonnes of oranges.

The post SA maize exports see massive rebound. appeared first on Agri Limpopo.