2020 maize output dips from previous month on wet weather

South Africa will likely harvest 15.422 million tonnes of maize in 2020, slightly lower than previous months estimate after late rains delayed deliveries, the government’s Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said on Tuesday.

Giving its eighth production forecast for the 2020 crop, the CEC estimated that harvest would be 37% higher compared with 11.275 million tonnes harvested in the 2018/2019 season when yields were hurt by dry weather conditions.

In August, the CEC pegged this year’s crop at 15.537 million tonnes.

The crop is forecast to consist of 6.620 million tonnes of yellow maize, used mainly in animal feed, and 8.802 million tonnes of white maize, used for human consumption.

The CEC’s estimate is slightly higher than the result of a Reuters survey, based on an average of estimates from five traders and analysts, that had pegged the harvest at 15.271 million tonnes.