SOUTH AFRICA – The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects SA’s 2023-24 corn production at 15.8 million tonnes, down from 17.1 million tonnes last year, but it still will be considered a bumper crop.

This represents a 7% lower than the 2022-23 crop which was the second largest on record.

This is according to the USDA in its latest report released on November 7 on cereals. South Africa will still maintain its status as a net exporter of corn in the 2023-24 marketing year despite the decline in production.

However, corn exports are forecast to decline by 25% to 3 million tonnes, but that total would still be the fourth largest on record, the report said.

Corn planted area is projected to remain steady in 2023-24 at 2.9 million hectares. Downward pressure on local corn prices will limit the expansion of corn plantings, the FAS said.

In South Africa, the USDA estimates that overall maize demand for feed, human consumption and industry is expected to be over 11.7 million tonnes this marketing year. 

The rainbow nation produced 17.1 million tonnes of the grain in 2022/2023, according to the Crop Estimates Committee (CEC).

In addition, FAS said that it foresees a positive trend in soybean plantings this season to a record 1.2 million tonnes. In 2022-23, farmers planted soybeans on 1.1 million hectares, an upsurge of 24% from the previous year.

Demand for maize for animal feed to fall by 348,000 tonnes

USDA said demand for maize for animal feed is expected at 5.6 million tonnes in the 2022/2023 marketing year. The announced stock reflects a drop of 5.6%, or 348,000 tonnes less than the previous year.

“Due to the extent of the outbreak and the number of birds affected, (FAS) estimates that the local demand for corn as animal feed could drop by approximately 6% in 2022-23.”

To explain this figure, the American organization cites in particular the avian flu epidemic which is currently affecting 7 provinces of the country. 

According to the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), more than 7.5 million chickens have already been culled since May 2023 to contain the spread of this epidemic, which represents between 20 and 30% of the poultry flock. national.

It should also be noted that the inadequate supply of electricity resulting from the serious energy crisis experienced by the public electricity company (Eskom), has led many operators to reduce their broiler production.