Drought and excessive heat prevented farmers from planting a crop in much of South Africa’s corn-growing region and the season is advancing; pollination and kernel-filling takes place in February and March in much of the country. USDA slashed its estimate of the nation’s corn harvest to 8 million tonnes, down by one-third from a month ago and far below normal for South Africa, which normally supplies corn to other countries in its region. In a turnabout, South Africa is forecast by USDA to import 1.5 million tonnes of corn this marketing year and export only 200,000 tonnes. Drought has hit much of southern Africa.
“At the end of December, (satellite) imagery indicates that most of the crop has not emerged and likely remains unplanted” in the center and western corn-growing regions, said USDA’s Feed Outlook. “Even in the East, with better precipitation and more irrigation, satellite imagery indicates delayed planting progress and poor emergence. Corn planted late suffers from reduced yield potential,” said USDA. Prospects for sorghum, another staple crop, also have faded. USDA forecasts a harvest of 100,000 tonnes, down 37 percent from its December forecast.
Futures prices in South Africa for white corn, “the main food staple for lower-income households, more than doubled last year because of the drought,” said Reuters. A food-price monitoring group says food prices are expected to rise by 15-20 percent in 2016 because the drought affects all types of food production.
“Sourcing new white corn supplies will be a challenge for South African importers,” said Agrimoney. “Although the grain is produced across much of southern Africa, very few countries in the region produce an exportable surplus. The USDA doubled its forecast for Mexican corn exports to 1.0 million tonnes, citing demand for white corn from South Africa.”