Johannesburg - Yellow maize in South Africa, the continent’s biggest producer, dropped to the lowest level in a week in Johannesburg. Wheat also fell.
The yellow-maize contract for delivery in December decreased 0.7 percent to 1,893 rand a metric ton, the lowest since August 5, by the midday close on the South African Futures Exchange.
The white variety for delivery in the same month fell 0.2 percent to 1,829 rand a ton.
The nation exported 70,465 tons of yellow maize in the week to August 8, Pretoria-based South African Grain Information Service said in a statement on its website.
That included 33,499 tons to Taiwan and 33,853 tons to South Korea.
Meal from white maize is used to make a staple food known as pap.
The yellow variety is mainly used for animal feed.
Wheat for delivery in December lost 0.1 percent to 3,643 rand a ton.
While South Africa is the sub-Saharan region’s biggest producer of the cereal after Ethiopia, it’s still a net importer of the grain, according to US Department of Agriculture data.
The nation is the area’s biggest buyer of the grain after Nigeria and Sudan. - Bloomberg News