Johannesburg - South Africa's government on Thursday increased its forecast of maize output for 2013 to 11.394 million tonnes from 11.375 million tonnes in its previous forecast.
The maize crop will consist of an estimated 5.749 million tonnes of white maize and 5.645 million tonnes of yellow, the government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said.
The harvest estimate was higher than market expectations of 11.134 million tonnes, according to a Reuters poll.
The CEC also said the preliminary area cultivated for wheat for the 2013 was at 515,200 hectares from 511,200 hectares last year. - Reuters