SAfrican corn prices decline after rain

Corn prices in South Africa, the largest producer of the grain on the continent, fell after rain in growing areas bolstered the prospects for higher yields. The South African Weather Service today forecast showers and thunderstorms across Mpumalanga province, the biggest producer of yellow corn, and the Free State, where most of the nation’s white-corn crop is grown. White corn for delivery in July, the most active contract on the South African Futures Exchange in Johannesburg, fell 29 rand, or 2.6 per cent, to 1,086 rand ($148) a metric tonne. White corn is South Africa’s staple food. Yellow corn for July delivery dropped 20 rand, or 1.7 per cent, to 1,164 rand a tonne. Yellow corn is used mainly as animal feed in South Africa. The US and Argentina are the world’s biggest corn exporters. Wheat for May delivery slid 15 rand, or 0.7 per cent, to 2,133 rand a tonne. South Africa is the continent’s fourth-largest wheat grower, after Egypt, Morocco and Algeria.