Dry spell pushes maize to 2-week high

Published Nov 23, 2012

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South African maize prices closed marginally higher on Friday due to weather concerns.

“It is maize planting season at the moment and the North West and the western part of the Free State are not getting the rain that they are supposed to have and traders are concerned about this and therefore bought maize‚” a local trader said.

Meanwhile the South African wheat production estimate has been adjusted upwards by 1.3% to 1.784 million tons on Thursday by the crop estimates committee‚ which cited better yields in the Western Cape.

White maize for December delivery‚ the most active contract on the South African Futures Exchange‚ added R19 to close at R2‚482 a ton. This is the highest level for the contract since October 6, 2012 when it closed at R2,489 a ton.

White maize is mainly used for making products for human consumption like maize meal.

Yellow maize for December delivery‚ the most active contract for yellow maize‚ gained R16 to close at R2‚537 a ton. Yellow maize is used mainly as animal feed in South Africa.

Wheat for December delivery closed R9 higher at R3‚690 a ton.

US grain markets were closed on Thursday‚ due to the Thanksgiving holiday‚ and will reopen for a shortened trading day on Friday. - I-Net Bridge and Justin Brown.

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