# South Africa farmers swap maize for sunflower as ‘Godzilla’ El Niño threatens harvests

> South African commercial farmers plan to plant 12.37% less maize this season, down to 2.387 million hectares, the lowest in eight years, and white maize area is down more than 18%. The drop reflects drought fears, high fertiliser and fuel costs and low prices, even though carryover stocks are a record 4.3 million tonnes.

- Date: 2026-11-01 · published 2026-11-01T06:15:24.379Z
- Category: weather · region South Africa · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/4531-south-africa-farmers-swap-maize-for-sunflower-as-godzilla-el-nino-threatens
- Commodities: [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Lower plantings raise the risk of a smaller harvest and tighter supply next year, which could lift white maize prices and food inflation in southern Africa.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2026-09-04 | [El Niño drives crop failure in Central America and East Africa and threatens the next season in Southern Africa, East Africa, Western South America, and Southeast Asia - Joint Research Centre](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17395-el-nino-drives-crop-failure-in-central-america-and-east-africa-and-threatens.md) | +0.5% | +1.9% |
| CORN | 2019-01-25 | [Smaller acreage for maize in South Africa - prices rise](https://feedsoft.ai/events/61122-smaller-acreage-for-maize-in-south-africa-prices-rise.md) | +0.9% | +1.4% |
| CORN | 2026-08-10 | [El Niño's Growing Threat: A Slower Harvest at Home, A Bigger Problem in Brazil - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17833-el-nino-s-growing-threat-a-slower-harvest-at-home-a-bigger-problem-in-brazil.md) | +3.0% | +11.1% |
| CORN | 2019-06-10 | [Agritrends- Increased feed prices a concern for livestock farmers- South Africa](https://feedsoft.ai/events/58724-agritrends-increased-feed-prices-a-concern-for-livestock-farmers-south-africa.md) | +5.9% | +4.8% |
| CORN | 2026-10-07 | [El Niño weather extremes worsen food security in East Africa and Central America and threaten next season crops in Southern Africa and South America - Joint Research Centre](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17047-el-nino-weather-extremes-worsen-food-security-in-east-africa-and-central.md) | -2.4% | -6.1% |

## Sources

- farmingportal.co.za: https://www.farmingportal.co.za/index.php/all-agri-news/news-of-the-day/13057-south-africa-farmers-swap-maize-for-sunflower-as-godzilla-el-nino-threatens-harvests

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.