Johannesburg - White corn rose to an 11-month high and headed for the biggest weekly advance in almost a year in South Africa after a farmers’ association said hot, dry weather has caused irreversible damage to crops.
White corn futures for delivery in July rose 2.5 percent to R2 715 ($231) a metric ton by 10.09am in Johannesburg on the South African Futures Exchange. They reached R2 737.20, the highest since March 12 and are up 13 percent this week.
More heat and dryness in the next two weeks may determine food prices in the coming year, Grain SA said on Thursday after an aerial survey of the north-west Free State and the North West provinces was conducted.
South Africa is the continent’s largest producer of corn, with the white variety used as staple food for human consumption and a yellow type used as animal feed.
Yellow corn futures for July delivery lost 0.4 percent to R2 400 a ton, paring this week’s gain to 7.5 percent. Prices closed on Thursday at the highest in more than a year.
Wheat for delivery in March declined 0.1 percent to R 3 902 a ton, while sunflower seeds for delivery the same month dropped 0.4 percent to R5 100 a ton.
Bloomberg