Johannesburg - South African wheat futures fell for a second day after prices slid in the US on speculation farmers will sow a larger crop as rains and cool weather boost harvest prospects.
Wheat for delivery in December, the most active contract, dropped 0.7 percent to 3,319 rand ($336) a metric ton by the noon close on the South African Futures Exchange in Johannesburg.
Production of spring wheat will exceed the US Department of Agriculture’s July 11 forecast, according to a Bloomberg survey of as many as 22 analysts and trading firms.
The crop would still be the smallest in two years.
The grain declined 2.3 percent, the most in five weeks, by the close yesterday on the Chicago Board of Trade.
“Wheat was down today on our market as Chicago prices fell on the prospects of a larger crop due to cooler weather and rain,” Benjamin Swanepoel, a trader at Trademar Futures (Pty) Ltd., said by e-mail.
Farmers in South Africa will probably sow 515,200 hectares (1.3 million acres) with the cereal this season, the country’s Crop Estimates Committee said July 25.
That implies a gain of 0.8 percent from the 511,200 hectares planted in the 2012 season, which was the smallest area since record-keeping began in 1931.
South Africa, a net importer of wheat, is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest producer of the grain after Ethiopia and the region’s biggest importer after Nigeria and Sudan, according to USDA data.
White corn for delivery in December gained 0.6 percent to 2,340.20 rand a ton.
The yellow variety for delivery in September slipped 0.1 percent to 2,138.80 rand a ton. - Bloomberg News