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South Africa Raises Corn-Crop Estimate Slightly on Better Yields

South Africa Raises Corn-Crop Estimate Slightly on Better Yields

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa boosted its estimate for this year’s corn harvest by 0.5 percent, after an increase in yields in the Free State province.

Farmers will probably reap 10.56 million tons in the 2018-19 season, Marda Scheepers, a statistician for the Pretoria-based Crop Estimates Committee, said by phone Tuesday. The committee forecast a crop of 10.51 million tons last month, in its first estimate for the season.

South Africa, historically the continent’s biggest corn producer, harvested 12.51 million tons of corn last year, a decrease from a record haul of 16.82 million tons in 2016-17.

Production is seen slightly up from the previous forecast due to an increase in expected yield for white corn in the Free State, Scheepers said. Three analysts and traders in a Bloomberg survey this week forecast a 2.9 percent cut in the CEC estimate, citing insufficient rains and frost which they said may affect late-planted crops.

The CEC raised its forecast for white corn production by 1.3 percent to 5.22 million tons, Scheepers said. Yellow corn, used mainly for livestock feed, is seen at 5.34 million tons, a reduction of 0.3 percent from the previous estimate. The committee left its forecast for the area planted under corn little changed at 2.3 million hectares, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Felix Njini in Johannesburg at fnjini@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Liezel Hill, Alex Devine

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