The South African government is expected next week to further cut the country's maize output forecast for 2013 as a drought earlier this year hurt crop growth, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday. In its fourth output forecast last month, the government's Crop Estimate Committee (CEC) said the maize crop was expected to be 11.44 million tonnes, down from 11.83 million tonnes in 2012.
An average of seven trading houses polled by Reuters now pegs the 2013 crop at 11.37 million tonnes. The estimates ranged between 11.2 million tonnes and 11.7 million tonnes. "The crop is not as big out there as the governments says it is. We had drought in the west and that has affected it quite badly," a trader said. Only one of the seven traders polled expected the forecast to be raised.
South Africa's provinces of Free State and North West, which together produce more than half of the country's maize, were hit by the dry conditions. "(There is) still talk of damage in the Free State and North West, especially white maize," said Piet Faure, a soft commodities analyst at CJS Securities. The CEC is due to release its fifth production forecast of this year's summer crops output on Tuesday.
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