Johannesburg - South African corn futures gained on concern that rain in the western parts of the country isn’t enough to recover damaged crops.
White corn for July delivery, the most active contract, rose 1 percent to 2,336 rand ($255) a metric ton on the South African Futures Exchange in Johannesburg.
The yellow variety for delivery in the same month increased 1.9 percent to 2,288 rand a ton.
Bothaville in the Free State province, which produces 40 percent of the nation’s corn, will have rain today and tomorrow, according to the South African Weather Service’s website.
None has been predicted for March 17, 18 and 19.
“We see small patches of rain in the western parts of the country but we are still far from enough rain,” Thys Grobbelaar, an analyst at Klerksdorp, South Africa-based Senwes, said by phone.
“What we have been receiving won’t recover the damage on the crops; damage is already done.”
South Africa is the continent’s biggest producer of corn.
White corn is a staple food, while the yellow variety is mainly used as animal feed.
Wheat for May delivery increased 0.2 percent to 3,450 rand a ton. - Bloomberg News