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Agriculture

2017 still expected to be a tough year for farmers

───   SABRINA DEAN 16:27 Wed, 01 Mar 2017

2017 still expected to be a tough year for farmers | News Article

Bloemfontein - Despite the prospects of a bumper maize harvest this year, it is still expected to be a very tough year for farmers.


Grain SA CEO Jannie de Villiers says the forecast released by the Crop Estimates Committee, the CEC, reflects the fantastic season we are seeing so far. The CEC this week announced that South Africa is expected to produce nearly 80% more maize than last year for a total harvest of about 13,9-million tons.

De Villiers says, however, it is still very early days:

“This is the very first crop estimate in terms of the tonnages announced by the Crop Estimates Committee. I think in total the crop tonnages are reflecting the very good conditions but we haven’t really assessed any specific damage following flooding in some areas after the good rains that fell.

“All in all, I think the country is looking fantastic.”

He adds that the good harvest does not automatically translate into good profits for producers:

“I think a lot of farmers are going to struggle this year. They might have a lot of tons (of maize) but the prices are not going to help them to become profitable or to catch up in terms of the backlog they had in the previous drought,

“So it is again going to be a very tough year for farmers.”

He says maize prices have come under increasing pressure in recent weeks, dropping from highs of around R4500 to R5000 per ton last year to a level of just above R2000 per ton.


- OFM News

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