February 26, 2014
South Africa imports yellow corn due to insufficient supply
For the first time in 22 months, South Africa is importing yellow corn as stocks of the grain declined to a nine-month low in January, agri-business Senwes has said.
At the end of last month from a year earlier, stockpiles of both white and yellow corn declined 31% to 2.34-million tonnes, the lowest since April, Pretoria-based South African Grain Information Service (Sagis) said in a statement on its website. The country had 946,076 tonnes of yellow corn, the smallest amount in nine months, and 1.39-million tonnes of white, according to the information service.
Local prices of both varieties rose to a record last month as drought in some growing regions curbed output. Grain SA, which represents commercial farmers, said in January that stocks would be tight for the rest of the season, until the harvest begins in April. Tiger Brands, the biggest South African food company, said last month it would consider importing corn in the event of a supply shortage.
The country, which is the continent''s biggest corn producer, last imported the white variety, used to make pap, in October 2012. It last brought in the yellow type, which is mainly fed to animals locally, in April that year, according to Sagis data.
White corn comprises only about 13% of global output, according to the United Nations'' Food and Agriculture Organization. This makes it difficult to import. Southern African nations'' preference for this type of the grain means the region is less likely to take advantage of a slump in global prices spurred by record harvests of corn, mainly yellow, from the US to Brazil.
White corn for delivery in July dropped 3.7% or the ZAR80 (US$7.44) daily limit to ZAR2,086 (US$194) a tonne by the close in Johannesburg trading. The yellow variety for delivery in the same month fell 3.1% to ZAR2,169 (US$202) a tonne.