FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 06/99 - SOUTH AFRICA (2 June)
Harvesting of 1999 coarse grains is near completion. Official estimates indicate maize production at 6.8 million tonnes, some 16 percent lower than last year and below average. Rains during the season were abundant but irregular. Heavy rains and floods in mid- February coupled with a dry spell in late February/early March negatively affected yields. The decline in production also reflects a slight reduction in the area planted, due to diversion of land to the more profitable sunflower, production of which is estimated at 945 000 tonnes.
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