October 29, 2014
South Africa plants less corn in 2014
South Africa's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) has lowered its estimate for corn plantings, saying farmers might have sowed 2.6 million hectares of the grain in the 2014 season. Its September 30 forecast was put at 2.69 million hectares.
CEC spokesman Marda Scheepers attributed their lower forecast to lower prices and a switch to oilseeds like soy, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Still, the CEC said they expected this year's corn harvest to be the biggest since 1981, when South Africa produced 14.9 million tonnes, without giving any figure.
In the case of sunflower seeds, the CEC raised its plantings estimate by 5.8% to 633,600 hectares; soy by 23% to 618,000 hectares; groundnuts by 12% to 58,200 hectares; sorghum by 2.1% to 80,500 hectares; and dry beans by 15% to 64,000 hectares.
The CEC also slightly downgraded its wheat production estimate by 0.2% to 1.78 million tonnes this season, compared with its September 30 estimate of 1.79 million tonnes.