South Africa’s maize production to dip, but remain sufficient to cover local demand

While South Africa’s maize production will be about 2.1-million tons lower this year, there is still enough to meet local consumption and supply neighbouring countries that are having difficult growing seasons owing to adverse weather, financial services firm Standard Bank says. According to the Crop Estimates Committee (CEC), South Africa is projected to produce 14.3-million tons of maize this year, compared with 16.4-million tons produced last year, which was also the second-highest crop on record.