SA may not be able to import enough white maize to meet demand

SA, which is set to produce the smallest maize crop since 2008 this year, may miss a target to import enough of the white variety this season to meet consumers' needs, the biggest agricultural lobby group said.

margenauer via pixabay

"It is still unclear whether we will be able to see the forecast 1.1-million tonnes by the end of the season," that terminates in April, Wandile Sihlobo, head economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber said on Tuesday. An increase in the pace of imports and supplies from SA’s own harvest, which is reaped from May to August, "will keep things cushioned," he said.

The country may need to import 3.8-million metric tonnes of maize this year, of which 1.1-million tonnes will be of the white type, according to Grain SA, the largest lobby for grain and oilseed farmers. The imports are required to meet local consumption needs after rainfall last year declined to the least since records started in 1904, damaging crops and raising prices in the continent’s biggest producer.

Outside of southern Africa, only Mexico is a major producer of white maize, and it does not have a lot to export, according to Oxfam. South African farmers may produce 7.16-million tonnes of both white and yellow maize this year, about 28% less than last year’s harvest, according to the crop estimates committee.

Read the full article on Agri Africa.