AgroPages-South Africa forecast winter cereal area down 0.4% in 2015-Agricultural news

Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of South Africa has released the area estimate and fourth production forecast for winter cereals for the 2015.

Winter cereals – area planted estimate and fourth production forecast: 2015
Crop	Area planted 2015 (Ha)	4 th forecast 2015 (Tons)	3 rd forecast 2015 (Tons)	Area planted 2014 (Ha)	Final crop 2014 (Tons)	Change% (production, 4^th vs 3th forecast)
Wheat	482,150	1,505,290	1,542,350	476,570	1,750,000	-2.4
Malting barley	93,730	349,487	347,017	85,125	302,000	+0.7
Canola	78,050	105,400	105,400	95,000	121,000	-
Total/	653,930	1,960,177	1,994,767	656,695	2,173,000	-1.7
Note: Estimate is for calendar year, e.g. production season 2015/16 = 2015

Winter cereal crops - 2015 production season

Wheat: The expected commercial production of wheat is 1.505 million tons, which is 2.4% or 37,060 tons less than the previous forecast of 1.542 million tons, whilst the expected yield is 3.12 t/ha.

The expected production in the Western Cape is thus now 697,500 tons (46%), in the Northern Cape 262,800 tons (17%) and in the Free State 224,000 tons (15%).

The area estimate for wheat, malting barley and canola are 482,150 ha, 93,730 ha and 78,050 ha, respectively.

Other crops: The production forecast for malting barley is 349,487 tons, which is 2,470 tons more than the previous forecast of 347,017 tons. The area planted is estimated at 93,730 ha, while the expected yield is 3.73 t/ha.

The expected canola crop remained unchanged at 105,400 tons. The area estimate for canola is 78,050 ha, with an expected yield of 1.35 t/ha.

Wheat – area planted estimate and fourth production forecast: 2015
Province	Area planted 2015 (Ha)	4 th forecast 2015 (Tons)	Area planted 2014 (Ha)	Final crop 2014 (Tons)
Western Cape	310,000	697,500	310,000	899,000
Northern Cape	36,000	262,800	38,000	285,000
Free State	80,000	224,000	69,500	245,500
Eastern Cape	3,100	14,880	3,000	12,000
KwaZulu-Natal	7,300	41,610	6,500	39,000
Mpumalanga	3,500	20,300	3,500	21,350
Limpopo	27,000	151,200	27,500	137,500
Gauteng	250	1,500	570	3,550
North West	15,000	91,500	18,000	107,100
Total	482,150	1,505,290	476,570	1,750,000