South Africa Cuts Wheat-Output Forecast as Drought Hurts Yields
- Worst drought in 23 years affected planting, crop yields
- Malting-barley crop forecast raised 2.3%; canola harvest cut
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South Africa trimmed its wheat-production estimate for this season after the worst drought in more than two decades harmed crops in the Free State province.
The country’s farmers will probably harvest 1.5 million metric tons of the grain this year, Marda Scheepers, a spokeswoman for the Crop Estimates Committee, said by phone. That’s less than the Nov. 25 forecast of 1.51 million tons, and exceeds the 1.495 million-ton median prediction of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. It would be the least since at least 2011.