South Africa's maize output seen doubling to record harvest

South Africa will likely harvest a record 15.6 million tonnes of maize in 2017, double last year's output after favourable weather conditions lifted yields, the government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said on Friday. The forecast may further depress maize prices, which will help brake inflation and food prices while cutting the margins for farmers, many of whom have high debts.
The fourth production forecast for the season, which is almost six percent higher than market expectations of 14.73 million tonnes, will be the largest crop since 1981 when it reached 14.656 million tonnes, the CEC said. The previous forecast called for a crop of 14.54 million tonnes. The CEC said the crop will comprise an estimated 9.4 million tonnes of white maize, the regional staple mostly used for human consumption, and almost 6.2 million tonnes of yellow, the bulk of which goes to animal feed.