South Africa's 2026 maize harvest seen 5.2% higher than last year

Sept 29 (Reuters) — South African farmers are expected to harvest 5.2% more maize in the 2025/2026 season compared with the previous one, the government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said on Tuesday. The CEC's eighth summer crop forecast estimated the 2026 maize harvest at 17.52 million metric tons, up from 16.65 million metric tons harvested the season before. The last estimate, on August 26, had put the 2026 harvest at 17.4 million tons. The harvest is expected to consist of 9.61 million metric tons of white maize, for human consumption, and 7.91 million tons of yellow maize, used mainly in animal feed. (Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Nilutpal Timsina ) ((Nelson.Banya@thomsonreuters.com;)