Maize harvest activity is gaining momentum across South Africa, thanks to favourable weather conditions. The progress is reflected in the volumes of maize delivered to commercial silos which amounted to 511 875 tons in the week ending 08 June 2016, well above the previous week’s (ending 1 June 2018) deliveries of 94 240 tons.
About 67% of this was yellow maize, with 33% being white maize. The fact that a large share of maize delivered to commercial silos is yellow shows that harvest activity is gaining ground mainly in the early planted areas in the eastern parts of the country, that predominantly produce yellow maize.
The total maize deliveries for the first six weeks of the 2018/2019 marketing year are estimated at 1.4 million tons.
More maize will be delivered in the coming weeks as the expected cool and drier weather conditions during the next two weeks could provide conditions conducive for the harvest activity, particularly in the early planted areas in the eastern and central parts of the South African maize-belt.
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