South Africa's maize stocks fell to 6.102 million tonnes at the end of November, compared with a revised 6.935 million tonnes in October, data showed on Wednesday, while the main maize futures closed mixed. The stocks included 3.169 million tonnes of white maize and 2.483 million tonnes of yellow, the South African Grain Information Service (SAGIS) said in its monthly bulletin.
SAGIS revised the October stocks figure downwards from 6.960 million tonnes. It said total exports from South Africa, the continent's biggest maize producer, reached 1.124 million tonnes at the end of November. The SAGIS data showed that the drop in stocks was mainly due to consumption and exports, with total consumption for the month at 773,000 tonnes and exports at 138,000 tonnes. South Africans use 8-9 million tonnes of the staple grain each year.
The country harvested 12.05 million tonnes of maize in the 2008/09 season down from 12.70 million in the season before. The consecutive large harvests have helped to keep maize prices on the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) relatively low due to the abundant supply of the grain.
The market has, however, mainly taken its cue from international prices and movements in the rand currency. The main March maize futures ended mixed on Wednesday after the rand weakened against the dollar during grain trading and corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell overnight.
March white maize closed 0.13 percent down at 1,685.8 rand a tonne, while yellow maize for delivery in the same month rose 0.19 percent to 1,587 rand a tonne. South African traders watch the CBOT market to remain competitive internationally and a weaker rand makes South African products cheaper for foreign buyers.