The area planted estimate and sixth production forecast of summer crops for the 2018 production season was recently released by the National Crop Estimates Committee.

Commercial maize

The size of the expected commercial maize crop remained unchanged at 13,207 million tonnes. The area estimate for maize is 2,319 million hectares, while the expected yield is 5,70 tonnes per hectare (t/ha). The area estimate for white maize is 1,268 million hectares and for yellow maize the area estimate is 1,051 million hectares.

The production forecast for white maize is 6,880 million tonnes, whilst the yield is 5,43 t/ha. In the case of yellow maize, the production forecast is 6,327 million tonnes and the yield is 6,02 t/ha.

Sunflower seed

The production forecast for sunflower seed also remained unchanged at 792,255 tonnes. The area estimate for sunflower seed is 601,500 hectares and the expected yield is 1,32 t/ha.

Other crops

The production forecast for soya beans is 1,551 million tonnes, with an estimated planted area of 787,200 hectares and an expected yield of 1,97 t/ha. The expected groundnut crop was decreased by 14,19% or 8 600 tons to 52,000 tonnes. For groundnuts, the area estimate is 56,300 hectares and the expected yield is 0,92 t/ha.

The production forecast for sorghum remained unchanged at 83,070 tonnes. The area estimate for sorghum is 28,800 hectares. The expected yield is 2,88 t/ha. In the case of dry beans, the production forecast also remained unchanged at 65,610 tons. The area estimate of dry beans is 53,360 hectares, with an expected yield of 1,23 t/ha.

Please note that the seventh production forecast for summer field crops for 2018 will be released on 28 August 2018.