Final area planted and crop production figures of commercial maize, sunflower seed, soybeans, groundnuts and sorghum for 2016

At a meeting held on 10 February 2017, the Crop Estimates Liaison Committee (CELC) oversaw the process for the finalisation of the crop pro­duction figures of commercial white and yellow maize, sunflower seed, soybeans, groundnuts and sorghum for 2016.

The estimated total production figures as released by the national Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) were revised, using the published figures of the South Africa Grain Information Services (SAGIS) of actual deliveries as the basis for the calculations. The figures from the maize utilisation survey to determine on-farm usage and retentions, which was conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the telephonic survey conducted by the National Crop Statistics Consortium (NCSC), were added to the SAGIS delivery figures to calculate the final crop production figures.

Comparing the final calculated crop figures with the numbers set by the CEC during September 2016, the size of the commercial maize crop is now 7,778 million tons, which is 3,21% or 241 625 tons more than the final crop estimate figure of 7,537 million tons. For white maize, the recalculated crop size is 3,408 million tons, which is 4,76% or 154 725 tons higher than the final crop estimate figure, and for yellow maize the recalculated crop size is 4,370 million tons, which is 2,03% or 86 900 tons more than the final crop estimate figure.

In the case of commercial sunflower seed, the final calculated crop figure remained unchanged at 755 000 tons. Sorghum and groundnuts were adjusted downward by 4,92% (or 3 650 tons) and 6,21% (or 1 170 tons), respectively. The soybeans crop was slightly adjusted upward, from 741 550 tons to 742 000 tons, which is 0,06% or 450 tons.

CELC accepted the final recalculated crop production figures for 2016 (please refer to the figures in the accompanying tables).

The CEC would like to thank all producers and industry role-players who provided information on a regular basis to improve the accuracy of the crop estimates. Producers, who do not participate in the Department's monthly survey, are requested as a matter of urgency to make an effort to contribute to the crop estimates process.

Summary – Final area planted and crop production figures of commercial summer crops for 2016

Crop	Final area planted	Final crop	CEC area planted	CEC final estimate ¹	Final crop vs Final estimate
	2016	2016	September 2016	September 2016
	Ha	Tons	Ha	Tons	%
	(A)	(B)	(C)	(D)	(B) ÷ (D)
White maize	1 014 750	3 408 500	1 014 750	3 253 775	+4.76
Yellow maize	932 000	4 370 000	932 000	4 283 100	+2.03
Total maize	1 946 750	7 778 500	1 946 750	7 536 875	+3.21
Sunflower seed	718 500	755 000	718 500	755 000	–
Soybeans	502 800	742 000	502 800	741 550	+0.06
Groundnuts	22 600	17 680	22 600	18 850	-6.21
Sorghum	48 500	70 500	48 500	74 150	-4.92

¹  As estimated by the CEC on 27 September 2016

Commercial maize and sorghum

Crop	Total	Producer deliveries reported by SAGIS ²	Projected deliveries ³	On-farm for own use
		March to December 2016	January to February 2017
	Tons	Tons	Tons	Tons
White maize	3 408 500	3 250 676	116 772	41 052
Yellow maize	4 370 000	3 987 022	96 314	286 664
Total maize	7 778 500	7 237 698	213 086	327 716
Sorghum	70 500	66 213	1 787	2 500

Commercial sunflower seed, soybeans and groundnuts

Crop	Total	Producer deliveries reported by SAGIS ²	Projected deliveries ³	On-farm for own use / direct sales etc.
		March to December 2016	January to February 2017
	Tons	Tons	Tons	Tons
Sunflower seed	755 000	751 705	3 295	0
Soybeans	742 000	704 286	5 714	32 000
Groundnuts	17 680	17 177	0	503

²  SAGIS producer deliveries relates to the current crop. However, please take note that early deliveries of maize (82 997 tons), which occurred during January and February 2016, are included in the 2016-seasons' estimate of 7,778 million tons.

³  Projected deliveries for maize are based on the weekly producer deliveries (31 December 2016 to 3 February 2017), as recorded by SAGIS and for sorghum, sunflower seed, soybeans and groundnuts on the historic trend of producer deliveries, as recorded by SAGIS