The Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) yesterday said the Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) has lifted the 2023/24 summer grains and oilseed harvest by 0.6% from last month to 16 million tons.
Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said a closer look at the data showed that white and yellow maize harvest could be 6.3 million tons and 7.1 million tons, a 0.1% and 1.3% month-on-month increase, respectively.
Sihlobo said these revisions placed the total maize production estimate at 13.4 million tons, up by 0.7% month-on-month.
When viewed annually, Sihlobo said white maize harvest was down 26%, with yellow maize down 10% from the 2022/23 season.
The disparity in the crop decline is due to regions where each crop variety is planted, with white maize predominantly in the western areas of South Africa, while yellow maize is in the east, he said.
