South Africa's maize carryover stocks stood at 2.751 million tonnes at the end of May, while exports dropped marginally, data showed on Monday.
Exports totalled 83,000 tonnes during the first month of the new marketing year that began in May from 98,000 tonnes in the previous month, the South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS) said in its monthly bulletin.
South Africa is expected to produce around 6 million tonnes this season compared to 11.45 million last year, raising fears of limited supply and helping boost prices to their best levels in over two years.
But some industry players say with carryover stocks around current levels and exports expected to fall this year due to better production prospects for the region, South Africa should easily meet its maize demands.
The country's annual maize requirement is roughly 8 million tonnes.
Benchmark July white maize futures eased nine rand to 1,331 rand a tonne on Tuesday, just short of a 28-month peak of 1,363 rand scaled last week as the rand currency tumbled.
SAGIS also released final figures for the previous season. It revised exports slightly up to 2.246 million tonnes and reduced its figure for stocks a bit to 3.169 million tonnes. The data were released after the market closed.
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