Weather conditions hit grain production

Weather conditions have taken their toll on both the winter and summer grain regions, as well as other crops

-  Jyothi Laldas and Glenneis Kriel.

Recent weather conditions in South Africa have had a significant impact on grain producers with challenges piling up. The Crops Estimates Committee (CEC) has also recently revised the summer crop production estimate down by 13,48% year-on-year to 17,4 million tons.

According to Grain SA, the recent weather conditions that prevailed in the winter grain production regions and current conditions in the summer grain production regions have had a significant economic impact on grain producers.

The winter grain production season faced several challenges with excessive rain in certain areas resulting in losses in yields and placing financial pressure on producers in affected areas.

According to Tobias Doyer, Grain SA CEO, in stark contrast to the winter grain production regions, the summer grain production regions are currently experiencing major challenges with drought conditions.

“The extreme heat and dry conditions caused the harvest to deteriorate much faster than initially expected. We have seen large areas where the damage is already irreversible. [Even] irrigated maize is experiencing challenges due to load-shedding, as well as the heat conditions,” said Doyer.

He added that these challenges came at a time when the margins on crops such as maize were already low due to larger international supplies and global price pressures.

“This makes the recovery period of individual producers very difficult in challenging production conditions. impact of the drought and market conditions on grain producers. International competitors enjoy the benefits of subsidised, affordable comprehensive insurance, providing them with a competitive advantage. Similar local systems could have substantially supported South African producers, given the challenging production conditions.”