Johannesburg — DROUGHT in the grain-producing regions of the country has caused havoc with maize planting, resulting in a 30% increase in white maize prices this month while the wheat crop is expected to be 40% lower.

White maize prices have soared since the beginning of this month on concerns that dry weather conditions will reduce the amount of maize planted, cutting the crop size next year. The price of the staple white maize surged to R1200 a ton yesterday on the South African Futures Exchange (Safex) from R927 a ton at the beginning of the month.

Andre Ferreira, senior economist at grain producer group GrainSA, estimated that only 60% of the expected maize crop has been planted so far this year.

Farmers in the northern regions, where most of the country's maize is planted, have until the end of this month to plant maize.

In September, the agriculture department's crop estimates committee estimated farmers would plant 2,803-million hectares of maize this year, compared with 3,1-million last year.

"If the drier weather continues, prices will rise even further. A consequence of this (dry weather) will be crop failure," said Ferreira.

Higher domestic maize prices have also prompted the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations body tasked with fighting world hunger, to import rather than procure maize locally to donate to neighbouring countries.

The WFP's Southern African regional director, Mike Sackett, said it was "unfortunate" that SA was heading into a drought while there was a shortage of food in the region.

"WFP still needs to procure more than 100000 tons of maize for hungry people across southern Africa between now and the end of June and the fact of the matter is that it's cheaper for us to buy food overseas and ship it here than it is to buy food in SA," said Sackett.

The drought has also adversely affected the wheat crop, with the crop estimate committee estimating yesterday that the wheat crop will total 1,4-million tons, which is 38,5% lower than the 2002-03 wheat crop.

The committee's chairman, Rodney Dredge, said the main reason for the drop in production was the drought conditions in Western Cape and Free State, coupled with lower wheat prices.

Wheat was trading near R1600 a ton on Safex yesterday, down from about R1700 a ton in September.

Dredge said the lower wheat prices were due to cheaper wheat imports from Europe and the stronger exchange rate, which influences the dollar-based price of grains.