WANDILE SIHLOBO: Climate change adds to uncertainty over global maize supplies
US agriculture department might have overstated area plantings but concerns will only be allayed by a sustained improvement in growing conditions
10 July 2019 - 05:09
Erratic weather conditions and more frequent droughts and floods are exacerbating uncertainty in the agricultural sector. While these have largely been a phenomenon of sub-Saharan Africa and Asian countries, the Americas are also starting to experience these harsh conditions.
The hallmark of changing climate in 2019 has been the prolonged excessive wet weather conditions in the US, which led to delayed plantings in a number of areas. By mid-June 2019 there were fears of possible tight global maize supplies, which saw maize prices rally because of slow plantings...
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