Maize futures mostly lower following good weekend rains

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Fear was temporarily alleviated‚ however‚ by good rainfall at the weekend in key planting regions.

At the close of the market‚ the white maize March 2015 contract was down R43 to R2‚366 a ton‚ the white maize July 2015 contract had dropped R39 to R2‚360 a ton. The September 2015 contract‚ however‚ gained R9 to R2‚420.

Yellow maize for delivery in March 2015 slumped R32 to R2‚220 a ton‚ while the yellow maize July 2015 contract dropped R35 to R2‚198 a ton. The yellow maize September 2015 contract was down R26 to R2‚240 a ton.

The executive of Grain SA met last week and reported on the status of the current maize crop condition.

The executive‚ which consists of 35 farmers from all the grain producing regions of the country‚ said maize crops in Mpumalanga and the eastern Free State were generally good‚ but urgently needed follow-up rain. It said there was a possibility of an average crop should widespread rain occur in the next ten days‚ however‚ weather forecasts were not promising at this stage.

Grain SA CEO Jannie de Villiers said new season white maize prices had increased by 17.5% in the ten days prior to Friday.

"If we have a crop failure this year‚ we can see prices increase further by almost 30%. Maize meal is the biggest staple food in SA‚ especially for the poor‚ and forms the basis for processed products like poultry‚ dairy and meat. Good rains in the next ten days could change the direction the crop is going in at the moment‚ but currently it does not look good‚" he said.

SA has not experienced a general drought since the early 1990s.

Wheat futures rebounded as the rand weakened.

The March 2015 wheat contract was up R37 to R3‚885 a ton‚ the July 2015 wheat contract lifted R37 to R3‚940 a ton and the September 2015 wheat contract closed unchanged at R3‚898 a ton.

The rand was trading at R11.5502 against the dollar from a close of R11.5162.