South Africa set for 12.2 million mt corn crop, soybean up

The South African Crop Estimates Committee has revised downwards its acreage estimate for corn and forecast production of 12.2 million mt in 2018, according to data from the agriculture, forestry and fisheries department, published Tuesday.

Corn is expected to be planted on 2.302 million hectares, down fractionally versus its January estimate of 2.309 million ha, and 12.4% below the 2.6 million ha planted in 2017.

Production is split evenly between white food corn and yellow feed corn, with each expected to yield just over 6.1 million mt.

That represents a significant increase in higher yielding yellow corn acreage, up 6% on the previous year, while white corn area is reduced by 23.4%.

The white corn yield is set at 4.85 mt/ha, with yellow corn at 5.85 mt/ha.

The country is also on course to grow 1.3 million mt of soybeans - an increase of 60,000 mt on the previous year - and 78,200 mt of sorghum, just over half the volume it grew in 2017.

The crop estimate comes in just below the USDA’s WASDE estimate of South Africa’s corn crop of 12.5 million mt, and comes as the country is wrestling with water shortages following a pronounced drought.