# SA farmers to slash maize plantings as El Niño looms and costs bite - Daily Maverick | Internationly

> South Africa's Crop Estimates Committee reports commercial farmers intend to plant 12.37% less maize this season, to 2.387 million hectares, the lowest in eight years. White maize area is down more than 18%, as farmers shift to sunflower amid El Niño risk, high fertiliser and fuel costs, and low prices.

- Date: 2026-11-03 · published 2026-11-05T07:38:18.941Z
- Category: weather · region South Africa · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/81399-sa-farmers-to-slash-maize-plantings-as-el-nino-looms-and-costs-bite-daily
- Commodities: [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

A smaller maize crop could tighten South African supply after record carryover stocks of 4.3 million tonnes, raising feed and food prices and increasing import needs. Lower area also adds to El Niño drought risk for the summer harvest.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2021-04-08 | [Drought conditions top of mind as farmers ease into the planting season - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/47441-drought-conditions-top-of-mind-as-farmers-ease-into-the-planting-season.md) | +3.6% | +25.3% |
| CORN | 2018-07-30 | [IRI – International Research Institute for Climate and Society \| July Climate Briefing: Models Continue to Predict El Niño in Coming Months](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63936-iri-international-research-institute-for-climate-and-society-july-climate.md) | +1.3% | -1.6% |
| CORN | 2022-09-22 | [Argentine Farmers Plant More Soybeans to Fight Drought, Fertilizer Costs](https://feedsoft.ai/events/14009-argentine-farmers-plant-more-soybeans-to-fight-drought-fertilizer-costs.md) | -2.8% | +1.3% |
| CORN | 2023-10-19 | [El Nino worries Brazil soy farmers as planting progresses, grain lobby says \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/13617-el-nino-worries-brazil-soy-farmers-as-planting-progresses-grain-lobby-says.md) | +1.0% | -2.6% |
| CORN | 2026-10-06 | [Latin America’s commodity exporters face El Niño, costly freight and a shifting US trade picture \| World Ports Organization](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16758-latin-america-s-commodity-exporters-face-el-nino-costly-freight-and-a-shifting.md) | -3.0% | -6.3% |

## Sources

- internationly.com: https://internationly.com/news/sa-farmers-to-slash-maize-plantings-as-el-nino-looms-and-costs-bite-daily-maverick

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