SA maize harvest forecast 8% lower than last year

31 Aug 2022

South African farmers are expected to harvest 8% less maize in the 2021/2022 season compared with the previous season, the government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said on Tuesday.

Francina Mputla inspects maize crops in front of her shack in Lawley informal settlement in the south of Johannesburg, South Africa, April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

The CEC's latest summer crop forecast estimates the 2022 harvest at 15,004 million tonnes, down from the 16,315 million tonnes harvested last season.

The harvest is expected to consist of 7,637 million tonnes of white maize, used for human consumption, and 7,367 million tonnes of yellow maize, used mainly in animal feed.