August 28, 2014
South Africa raises forecast for corn output in 2014
With a favourable weather that helps improve crop production, South Africa has raised its corn output forecast for 2014 by over 2%.
The government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) has raised its 2014 forecast to 14.307 million tonnes from its previous estimate of 14.017 million tonnes, the largest harvest in over three decades. This was higher than market expectations of 14.031 million tonnes, according to a poll.
The CEC's forecast for white maize remained unchanged at 7.697 million tonnes but the outlook for yellow corn was raised by 4.5% to 6.610 million tonnes based on data gleaned from deliveries to silos.
Agriculture is one of the few bright spots in South Africa's economy with data this month showing that the sector grew near 5% in the second quarter when overall GDP rose at a tepid 0.6%, just avoiding a recession after contracting in the previous three months.
The CEC added that farmers had planted an estimated 468,000 hectares for wheat, the lowest on record, with the harvest forecast to reach 1.779 million tonnes against the previous crop of 1.870 million tonnes.