South Africa lowers 2015 maize output forecast, soybean harvest seen at record

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa lowered its 2015 maize output by almost one percent to 9.755 million tonnes on Tuesday, citing the slow pace of deliveries from the field to silos, the government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said. The maize crop in the continent's biggest producer will consist of an estimated 4.65 million tonnes of white maize and 5.1 million tonnes of yellow, the CEC said in its fifth forecast for the 2015 crop. The CEC estimate beat market expectations of a harvest of 9.57 million tonnes, according to a Reuters poll. [ID:nL5N0ZF1QT] South Africa is still expected to reap its lowest staple crop harvest since 2007, which is forecast to be a third less compared to the 2014 crop due to scorching drought. Domestic maize prices have scaled record highs above 3,000 rand ($246) a tonne as a result, putting pressure on food prices and inflation in Africa's most advanced economy. The CEC also revised upwards its forecast for soybeans, estimating a record 1 million tonne harvest after plantings for the crop reached almost 700,000 hectares, the highest ever. ($1 = 12.1794 rand)