South African Corn Plantings Seen Flat After Lowest Crop Since 2019

  • Commercial growers intend to plant 0.15% more than in 2023-24
  • Corn season may be late after scattered rains, economist says

South Africa is Africa’s biggest producer of corn. 

Photographer: Dean Hutton/Bloomberg
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South African farmers will barely increase the land allocated to plant corn for next year’s crop and the season may be late, exacerbating a shortage after the harvest slumped a quarter to a five-year low this year.

Commercial growers plans to plant 2.64 million hectares (6.5 million acres) of land in the 2024-25 season, 0.15% more than in 2023-24, the country’s Crop Estimates Committee said in its forecast for intentions to plant summer crops on Tuesday.