South Africa’s 2022 maize harvest seen down 9.8% from last year

South African farmers are expected to harvest 9.8% less maize in the 2021/2022 season compared with the previous season, the government’s Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said on Wednesday.

The CEC’s latest summer crop forecast estimates the 2022 harvest at 14.713 million tonnes, down from the 16.315 million tonnes harvested last season.

The harvest is expected to consist of 7.470 million tonnes of white maize, used for human consumption, and 7.243 million tonnes of yellow maize, used mainly in animal feed.