SA CROP FORECAST IS ‘SOMEWHAT OPTIMISTIC’
THE LATEST forecast released by South Africa’s Crop Estimates Committee pointed to a “somewhat optimistic” outlook for the agricultural sector as seasonal conditions turned positive, Paul Makube a senior agricultural economist at FNB Agri-Business, said yesterday. He said the latest estimates signalled a sharp recovery in output of summer crops with the total maize planted area coming in up 10 percent year-on-year at 2.54 million hectares (ha) and a potential 13.64 million tons using an average of 5.4 tons per ha for a relatively good season. “Not only is this positive from a gross domestic product perspective, the estimated supplies may help tame food inflation, which has been relatively contained below 3 percent for the better part of 2019.” He said rebound in production conditions afforded farmers to plant more area relative to the previous year and the summer grain and oilseed crops were in good shape, though more follow-up rains are needed in some areas to ensure a good finish. “The agriculture outlook remains increasingly weather dependent and we are likely to finish the season on a positive note if the growing conditions retain the current momentum. It is, however, important to note that severe drought conditions have placed significant pressure on producers in the Eastern and Northern Cape provinces,” Makube said.
MINING company DRDGold says it expects headline earnings per share of between 47.68 cents and 49.12 cents for the six months ended December 31, compared with a loss of 7.2c per share for the previous corresponding period. The gold producer said yesterday that the turnaround was mainly due to a 69 percent increase to R2.1 billion in revenue, although this was moderated by an 18 percent rise in cash operating costs to nearly R1.4bn. DRDGold said it had ended the current reporting period with cash and cash equivalents of R543.4 million, compared with R279.5m as at June 30. The company is due to publish its consolidated interim results on February 12. | African News Agency (ANA)