Maize prices firm on weaker rand

South African maize futures ended higher on Tuesday (30 July)‚ supported by higher prices on the Chicago Board of Trade and a weaker rand.

The September white maize contract finished R44 higher at R2‚312 per ton‚ with December white maize lifting R47 to R2‚353 per ton and the March 2014 white maize contract rallying R45.80 to R2‚339.80 per ton.

"The spread between white and yellow maize prices is widening because of lingering concerns about the potential shortfall of white maize‚" Senwes analyst Thys Grobbelaar said.

The September yellow maize contract gained R22 to R2‚138 per ton‚ with December yellow maize climbing R23 to R2‚177 per ton and the March 2014 yellow maize contract closing R27 firmer at R2‚155 per ton.

The September wheat contract ended R26 stronger at R3‚358 and December wheat ended up R25 at R3‚300 per ton.

The white maize forecast fell 2.4% to 5.749m tons‚ but the yellow variety rose 2.95% to 5.645m tons‚ the crop estimates committee said last week in its sixth production estimate report for this year.