Wheat imports in South Africa to take a slight decline
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Wheat imports in South Africa for 2018-19 are forecast to decline marginally to 1.8 million tonnes after doubling in 2017-18 to 2 million tonnes, due to a drought in the Western Cap Province, according to a March 30 Global Agricultural Information Network report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For 2016-17, South Africa’s wheat and wheat products imports decreased by 50% to 1 million tonnes due to a five-year high local wheat crop of 1.9 million tonnes.
In the first five months of 2017-18, South Africa already imported 1.1 million tonnes of wheat, mainly from Russia, Lithuania, and Germany.
Meanwhile, corn exports are expected to drop to 1 million tonnes in 2018-19, due to a decrease in commercial production. The report estimates that South Africa will export about 2 million tonnes of corn in 2017-18, drawing from an expected commercial crop of above 12 million tonnes and a relatively large carryover stock from 2016-17.
South Africa’s corn crop for 2018-19 could reach 11 million tonnes, which is 15% less than the expected corn crop of 13 million tonnes in 2017-18.
Rice imports in South Africa are expected to be around 1 million tonnes in 2018-19.
Source: World Grain
