SA expects jump in maize imports due to drought

Cape Town - With two weeks left in the current marketing season, drought-hit South Africa has imported 1.732 million tonnes of yellow maize and 72 000 million tonnes of white maize in line with expectations, the agriculture minister said on Thursday.

The country will significantly increase imports in the next season when 2.4 million tonnes of yellow maize and 1.9 million tonnes of white maize will be shipped to its shores, Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana told parliament.