Almost 2.56mill hectares of maize to be planted for 2016

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The figures show that producers intend to plant 1.422mill ha to white maize, which is 26,250ha (1.8%) less than in the previous season. In the case of yellow maize, the expected plantings are 1.129mill ha, which is 75,800ha (6.3%) less than in the previous season.

"Producers indicated that less maize will be planted for the 2016 season because they are under pressure due to the current dry weather conditions. However, the rainfall can still influence farmers' decisions," the CEC said.

It added that the expected commercial production of wheat is 1.542mill tons, which is 5.69% or 93,050 tons less than the previous forecast of 1.635mill tons, while the expected yield is 3.2t/ha. "The main reason for the decrease is because of the western parts (Swartland) of the Western Cape province that hasn't received enough rain. Accordingly, the wheat in this province decreased by 10% or 77,500 tons against the previous forecast.

"The expected production in the Western Cape is thus now 697,500 tons (45%), in the Northern Cape 266,400 tons (17%) and in the Free State 256,000 tons (17%). "The area estimate for wheat is 482,150ha."

Source: AFP