Johannesburg - South African yellow-corn futures declined to the lowest level in nearly three months after the Crop Estimates Committee increased its forecast for the grain last month.
“Yellow will be lower as the Crop Estimate Committee increased the yellow maize for South Africa by 2.9 percent,” Benjamin Swanepoel, a trader for Trademar Futures (Pty) Ltd., said in an e-mailed response to questions today.
The most active yellow corn contract for delivery in September, dropped 0.8 percent to 2,109 rand ($214) a metric ton, the lowest since May 13, by the close in Johannesburg on the South African Futures Exchange.
The white variety for delivery in December fell 0.8 percent to 2,303 rand a ton.
The Crop Estimates Committee raised its forecast for yellow corn production by 2.9 percent to 5.65 million tons, it said in a July 25 report.
Exports of the grain since the season began on April 27 were 58 percent higher than for the whole of the prior marketing year, according to the Grain Information Service.
South Africa is the continent’s largest producer of the grain.
Yellow corn, also called maize, is mainly used as animal feed, while the white variety is used to make one of the nation’s staple foods.
Wheat for December delivery dropped 0.1 percent to 3,323 rand a ton. - Bloomberg News