Soaring maize prices squeeze South African consumers

JOHANNESBURG: Elevated prices for the staple food maize are putting pressure on cash-strapped South African consumers still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and fanning food price inflation.

A global run in the price of maize driven by higher import demand from China, droughts in South America and dry conditions in parts of the United States and Canada has raised local maize prices despite expectations of a bumper 2020/2021 domestic maize crop.

The September domestic white maize contract closed at 3,107 rand ($224.85) per tonne on Thursday 28% higher than a year ago, while the yellow maize contract closed 26% higher compared with the prior year at 3,223 rand, near an almost five-year high reached earlier this month.

White maize is the main source of calories for many households in the country, which has been battling decades of inequality, unemployment and an economy that was already in a recession before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.