SA white corn drops most in 10 months

Johannesburg - White corn in South Africa has declined the most in 10 months after heavy rains in key producing areas helped limit the damage to this year’s crop due to a drought.

White corn for delivery in July retreated 4.6% to R2 484 a metric ton at 10:07 on the SA Futures Exchange in Johannesburg. That’s the biggest drop for a most-active contract since April 23. It decreased by the R120 extended daily limit.

“There was huge rainfall yesterday and last night in many maize-producing areas,” Lindy van Blommestein, a trader at Farmwise Grains, said by phone from Johannesburg, using the local term for corn. “This will help the crop not to deteriorate any further.”

Dry, hot weather in the Free State and North West provinces caused “irreversible” damage to crops, farmers body Grain SA said February 12. This year’s crop may shrink 26% to the smallest since 2011 because of the lack of sufficient rains, according to the median of five analysts’ estimates in a Bloomberg News survey this month.

White corn is used to make a staple food known as pap while the yellow type is mainly fed to animals.

Yellow corn for delivery in July declined 0.8% to R2 290 rand a ton, while wheat for delivery in March fell for a fifth day, losing 0.7% to R3 755 a ton, the lowest since November 20.