Record levels for nearly all 2020 winter cereal harvests

Dmitry Pichugin via Fotolia

Wheat

The expected wheat production is 2,109 million tonnes, which is 1,81% or 38,800 tonnes fewer than the previous forecast of 2,148 million tonnes, while the expected yield is 4,14tones per hectare. This is the largest expected wheat crop since the 2,130 million tonnes of the 2008 season.

The expected production in the Western Cape is 1,092 million tonnes (52%), 413,600 tonnes (20%) in the Free State, and 271,950 tonnes (13%) in the Northern Cape.

Malting barley

The production forecast for malting barley is 589 846 tons, which is 7,2% or 39,600 tonnes more than the previous forecast of 550,246 tonnes. The area planted is estimated at 141,690 hectares, while the expected yield is 4,16 tonnes per hectare. This is the largest expected malting barley crop recorded for South Africa.

Canola

The expected canola crop is 166,956 tonnes, which is 2,27% or 3,700 tonnes more than the previous forecast of 163,256 tonnes. The area estimate for canola is 74,120 hectares, with an expected yield of 2,25 tonnes per hectare. It is also the largest expected canola crop ever recorded for South Africa.

Oats

The expected oats cereals crop for 2020 is 52,400 tonnes, which is 10,55% or 5,000 tonnes more than the previous forecast of 47,400 tonnes. The area estimate is 26,200 hectare and the expected yield is 2 tonnes per hectare.

The final production estimate for winter cereals for 2020 will be released on 25 February 2021.