Wheat output could rise by 23% this year

SOUTH Africa’s wheat output is estimated to increase by 23 percent to 1.77 million tons this year, according to Agricultural Business Chamber senior agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo.

“South Africa’s winter wheat harvest is virtually over. The country’s 2016 total wheat output is estimated at 1.77 million tons, which is 23 percent higher than the previous season’s output,” he said.

Sihlobo said the increase in local harvest would subsequently lessen wheat imports, which were set to decline by 27 percent year on year this season to 1.5 million tons.

The region that has led the recovery in the country is the Western Cape, where the winter rains helped to increase the wheat harvest.

Paul Makube, a senior agricultural economist at FNB, said: “Even though we have witnessed these conditions South Africa remains the net importer of wheat.”

Makube, however, said South Africa was still a long way off from being a major player in the world.

Sihlobo said good rains were expected going forward with seven of the nine provinces expecting some rains.

“This morning (yesterday) the weather forecast shows a possibility of rainfall across Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Free State as well as northern parts of the Eastern Cape province within the next eight days.

This expected rainfall varies between 20 and 70 millimetres and could potentially improve soil moisture levels and benefit summer crops’ sowing activity,” he said.