* Two cargoes headed to Western Cape – producer group
* Deal done months back on attractive prices-traders
* South Africa may import more maize after big exports
(Updates with details on cargoes, market background)
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Two cargo ships of
Romanian maize are en route to South Africa’s Western Cape
province and could be followed by more imports as the country
faces a maize supply shortfall for the rest of the season, the
head of producer group Grain SA said on Tuesday.
“Our understanding is that there are two cargo shipments on
their way to the Western Cape. It’s yellow maize from Romania
for the feed (livestock) industry in that province,” Jannie de
Villiers, Grain SA’s chief executive, told Reuters.
Two French traders whose firms were involved in the sale of
the maize (corn) said the ships had left Romania in mid-December
and comprised Panamax cargoes of 43,000 and 45,000 tonnes, with
the grain exported by Swiss-based trading house Ameropa.
The deal dated back to last May when Romanian maize was very
competitive internationally, they said.
South Africa has been harvesting bumper maize crops but
because of export commitments, Grain SA estimates it may have to
import a combined 700,000 tonnes of white and yellow maize to
make up for expected shortfalls in the current marketing year
which ends on April 30.
The March white maize contract ended over 3 percent
higher on Tuesday at 2,644.00 rand a tonne and the prospects
that South Africa may have to import could put further pressure
on prices and domestic inflation.
Continued…
