By Tshepiso Mokhema
South Africa, the continent’s biggest corn producer, may plant 3.3 percent less of the grain in the 2014-15 season than a year earlier as prices drop, a survey showed. Wheat output may stay unchanged.
Farmers aim to sow 2.6 million hectares (6.4 million acres) for the season through end-April, compared with 2.69 million hectares planted in 2014, according to a median estimate of four traders in a Bloomberg survey. Estimates ranged from 2.58 million hectares to 2.68 million hectares. The government’s Crop Estimates Committee will report the prediction on Jan. 27.
“The price is not good,” Thys Grobbelaar, an analyst at Klerksdorp-based Senwes Ltd., said by phone today. “It is really not viable to plant maize at these prices.”
Prices of white corn, used to make a traditional staple porridge, have fallen 5.2 percent this year, while the yellow variety, which is mainly fed to animals, has declined 5.6 percent. The 14-day relative strength index for both types reached 32 on Jan. 15, close to the level of 30 that signals to some investors that prices are poised to increase.
Local farmers may keep output for wheat unchanged from the previous estimate of 1.76 million metric tons, the survey showed. The country is the sub-Saharan region’s largest producer of wheat after Ethiopia and is a net importer of the cereal.
