SA bumper harvest depresses local cereal prices

According to BAMB officials, South Africa is expecting 12.96 million metric tonnes of maize this year against local demand of nine million in that country. The region's agricultural giant also has carryover stock amounting to 1.9 million tonnes, further weighing on the already surfeit market.

With BAMB benchmarking its price on the South African maize price, what is music to the ears of local consumers has become a nightmare for local farmers. While last year, BAMB was buying maize from farmers for about P70 per 50-kilogramme bag, this year the price has dropped to P60. The surplus also extends to sorghum, with this year's prices dropping to P55 from last year's P82.50.