AGFACTS Newsbrief Summary - June 2011

·         Average annual wheat plantings over the past five years are approximately 670 000 hectares.   This is well down from the average level of almost 2.0 million hectares during the 1970’s and 1980’s.

·         Wheat yield has shown an encouraging upward trend over the past 40 years.   The current ten-year average is 2.57 tons per hectare.

·         Intended wheat plantings of 599 000 hectares for the 2011 season are 7.2% up on 2010 plantings.

·         The bulk of the wheat plantings are in the Western Cape (45.8% of the total) and the Free State (36.8%) of the total).

·         The fourth production estimate for commercial maize for the 2010/2011 season is 10.993 million tons.   This is 14.2% more than in the 2009/2010 production season.

·         The overall trend in year-on-year price changes of agricultural machinery now upwards.   The current overall year-on-year price reduction in nominal terms is 3.9% (smoothed).

·         Year-to-date tractor sales (five months to May) are 21.8% up on those for the same period last year.