South Africa’s record maize harvest cushions consumers against El Niño
South Africa faces a hotter, drier summer as one of the most intense El Niño periods takes hold. A record 17.7-million-tonne maize harvest should protect consumers into 2027, Agriculture Envoy Wandile Sihlobo wrote.
South Africa is heading into a hotter, drier summer as an intense El Niño takes hold. Large grain stocks should still protect consumers from supply shortages and price rises in 2027, according to Wandile Sihlobo. Sihlobo is South Africa's Agriculture and Land Envoy and chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa. He set out his analysis in a column for Daily Maverick. Sihlobo wrote that forecasters see this as one of the most intense El Niño periods. The hot, dry conditions are expected to last through the first quarter of 2027. A heatwave is already spreading across the country. Even so, planting of the 2026-27 summer grain and oilseed crops is going well. A long 2025-26 rain season and good September rains in some areas left the soil moist. Many farmers are planting early to make use of it. Crop Estimates Committee data released on October 27 shows farmers plan to plant 4.5 million hectares of summer grain and oilseed. That is 2% less than in 2025-26 but in line with the five-year average. The crops include white and yellow maize, sunflower seed, soybeans, groundnuts, sorghum and beans. Sihlobo said the data suggests farmers may cut maize area…
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