Commercial maize
The revised area estimate for maize is 2 301 800 hectares, which is 0,74% or 17 050 hectares less than the 2 318 850 hectares planted at the previous season, but 1,45% or 32 900 ha more than the preliminary area estimate of 2 268 900 hectares released in January.
The expected commercial maize crop is 10 510 020 tons, which is 15,99% or 1 999 980 tons less than the 12 510 000 tons of the previous season (2018). The maize yield is 4,57 t/hectare. The planted area figures are based mainly on information obtained from the Producer Independent Crop Estimation System (PICES), conducted by the National Crop Statistics Consortium (NCSC) for the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and North West provinces.
Please note that information from the objective yield survey by the NCSC for Mpumalanga province will be available in April, and for the Free State and North West provinces in May. The current yield figures are mainly obtained from producers in the different provinces.
The area estimate for white maize is 1 298 200 hectares, which represents an increase of 2,37% or 30 100 hectares more than the 1 268 100 hectares planted last season. The production forecast for white maize is 5 152 900 tons, which is 21,21% or 1 387 100 tons less than last season’s 6 540 000 tons. The white maize yield is 3,97 t/hectare.
In the case of yellow maize, the area estimate is 1 003 600 hectares, which is 4,49% or 47 150 hectares less than the 1 050 750 hectares planted last season. The yellow maize production forecast is 5 357 120 tons, which is 10,27% or 612 880 tons less than last season’s 5 970 000 tons. The yellow maize yield is 5,34 t/hectare.
Sunflower seed
The revised area estimate for sunflower seed is 515 350 ha, which is 14,32% or 86 150 hectares less than the 601 500 hectares planted the previous season. The production forecast for sunflower seed is 563 590 tons, which is 34,62% or 298 410 tons less than the 862 000 tons of the previous season. The expected yield is 1,09 t/hectare.
Other crops
It is estimated that 730 500 hectares have been planted to soya beans, which represents a decrease of 7,20% or 56 700 hectares compared to the 787 200 hectares planted last season. The production forecast is 1 276 035 tons, which is 17,14% or 263 965 tons less than the 1 540 000 tons of the previous season. The expected yield is 1,75 t/hectare. The area estimate for groundnuts is 20 050 hectares, which is 64,39% or 36 250 hectares less than the 56 300 hectares planted for the previous season. The expected crop is 20 100 tons – which is 64,74% or 36 900 tons less than last season’s 57 000 tons. The expected yield is 1 t/hectare.
The area estimate for sorghum increased by 75,35% or 21 700 hectares, from 28 800 hectares to 50 500 hectares against the previous season. The production forecast for sorghum is 168 400 tons, which is 46,43% or 53 400 tons more than the 115 000 tons of the previous season. The expected yield is 3,33 t/hectare.
For dry beans, the area estimate is 59 300 hectares, which is 11,13% or 5 940 hectares more than the 53 360 hectares planted for the previous season. The production forecast is 70 950 tons, which is 2,29% or 1 590 tons more than the 69 360 tons of the previous season. The expected yield is 1,20 t/hectares.
Please note that the second production forecast for summer field crops for 2019 will be released on 26 March. – CEC Report
