The white maize spot price rises to R5990 per ton, with the Jul’25 price dropping to R4265. The yellow maize price rises to R4889, with the Jul’25 price dropping to R4089 per ton. The soybean spot price drops to R8340, with the May’25 price dropping to R7649 per ton.
The sunflower spot price rises to R8900 per ton, with the May’25 price standing at R8860 per ton. The wheat spot price rises to R6120, with the Dec’25 price now at R6204 per ton.
The sorghum import parity price landed in Durban is R4965, with shelled Argentine groundnuts at R20,873, and the cotton price now at R9970.
On a technical level, the white maize spot price has dropped by R1212 per ton from January 28 until now, while the July price has fallen by about R1000 during the same period. Since January 28, the yellow maize spot price has dropped by R900 per ton, while the July price has dropped by R480 during the same period. If we look at the moving averages, we can see that maize, soybeans, and sunflower are still in a technical downward trend.
Internationally, we see that prices are very volatile, with CBOT prices leading the way. As new news comes to the market, prices change daily, making predictions very difficult. Two stories that could have the biggest influence right now are the WASDE report, which will be released on Tuesday, March 11, and China’s shifting demand. In terms of China, historical data shows that they usually import more agricultural products from South America during this time of year since these products are now much cheaper than those from the USA, but we expect that import tariffs will also play a role in that decision. The USDA will also release their final planting intentions at the end of March, which is something to look out for. Although more maize is expected, the weather in America should also be monitored. It’s starting to look like they might have a late start for the summer, which could delay maize planting and push prices up, possibly forcing more soybean planting.
News from Zambia is that they now expect a maize harvest between 3.5 million and 4 million tons, but I must also mention that their strategic reserves are almost zero after last year’s harvest, and their elections are coming up soon. This could mean that they will export very little in the coming season, which could bring support back to the white maize market. Locally, we see that the white and yellow maize spot prices have risen in the past week, which we attribute to the late start of the harvesting process in the northeastern areas, which is now creating shortages. However, the July and May contract prices remain in their downward trend due to better production conditions. However, there are now signs emerging in certain areas that could prevent maize prices from falling much further, but we may only see more direction in the market once the latest crop estimate figures are released at the end of the month.
