A delayed planting season due to persistent rainfall has pushed maize harvesting back by several weeks. By mid-July, farmers had delivered approximately 6,4 million tons of maize to commercial silos, experts say the slower pace reflects seasonal conditions rather than a poor crop.
According to Grain SA’s latest Producer Deliveries Report, published on 9 July, a further 9,5 million tons of maize are expected to be delivered over the remainder of the marketing season.
Speaking on his podcast, Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said motorists travelling through South Africa’s grain-producing regions will notice harvesting activity continuing well into winter.
“People travelling across South Africa at the moment will probably observe that there’s still a lot of activity in the maize fields compared with previous years.
“We are now roughly mid-July, and farmers have only delivered around 6,4 million tons of maize. But this year, South Africa expects to have a record maize crop of about 17,3 million tons. That tells you there is still a lot of work ahead,” he said.
Late season, slow delivery
According to Grain SA’s report, the slower delivery pace is the result of delayed planting and wet fields that hampered harvesting.
It shows that white maize deliveries remain well behind normal seasonal levels. By marketing week 10, producers had delivered around 2,9 million tons of white maize, representing 36% of the expected commercial crop after grain retained on farms is taken into account. This is 2,9 million tons less than had been delivered by the same time in the 2025/26 season and 3,6 million tons below the five-year average.
By contrast, 3,5 million tons of yellow maize have been delivered, representing 52% of the expected commercial crop. However, deliveries remain 544 197t below the same period last season and 870 895t below the five-year average.
Sihlobo added that the delayed harvest could largely be traced back to the beginning of the production season, when persistent rainfall delayed planting in many grain-producing areas by as much as six weeks.
“The season itself started late. It was quite rainy at the start of the season, and in some areas, farmers had to put the seed in the ground a month or even a month and a half later than they would typically do,” he explained.
Rain also continued for much longer than usual, with many summer rainfall regions still receiving rainfall until mid-May.
“Typically, summer rains slow somewhere around the end of March or the beginning of April. This year, we were still receiving rain all the way to mid-May, which delayed harvesting even further,” Sihlobo added.
Most maize meets highest quality standard
Despite concerns that prolonged wet conditions could reduce grain quality, he explained that the crop delivered so far has exceeded expectations.
“Right now, we’re not complaining a lot about quality. It does seem that things are looking reasonably well in terms of quality,” according to Sihlobo.
Corné Louw, applied economics and member services lead at Grain SA, said the season has demonstrated how modern maize hybrids are able to perform under a wide range of weather conditions.
“We have bred maize varieties that are well adapted to dry, warm weather, but this past season has also shown that our varieties can take advantage of higher rainfall seasons, with higher yields,” he told Farmer’s Weekly.
The report shows that 95% of white maize delivered by week 10 was classed as Grade 1, the highest commercial quality classification, while 93% of yellow maize achieved Grade 1. Grade 1 maize meets the strictest industry standards for factors such as damaged kernels, foreign matter, and other defects, making it the preferred quality for the market.
The remaining 5% of white maize and 7% of yellow maize delivered were classed as Grade 2, indicating that the delayed harvest has had minimal impact on grain quality.
Looking ahead, Louw advised producers to continue selecting hybrids that consistently perform under their specific farming conditions.
“Producers should know what varieties perform consistently on their farms. They should consider a package of hybrids to make sure they cover production risks,” he said.
However, he warned against planting new varieties across entire maize areas.
“Never plant a new variety as your total planting. Start with small percentages of total plantings, and always plant control plots so you have a benchmark to compare different hybrids and production practices,” Louw explained.
