Bumper maize crop expected

The crop estimates committee at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has set the size of the expected commercial maize crop at 14,324 million tons, which is 2,91% or 405 050 tons more than the previous forecast of 13,918 million tons. The area estimate for maize remained unchanged at 2,629 million ha, while the expected yield is 5,45 t/ha.
The estimated maize crop is 84% bigger than the 2016 crop, which was the smallest crop since 2007. The three main maize producing areas, namely the Free State, Mpumalanga and North West provinces are expected to produce 82% of the 2017 crop. This season’s crop will be the second biggest after the 1980/81 bumper crop of 14.66 million tonnes. This means that South Africa will regain its status as a net exporter of maize this season.To read more, click HERE.