Final area planted and crop production figures of commercial maize, sunflower seed, soybeans, groundnuts and sorghum (2025)
At a meeting held on 12 February 2026, the Crop Estimates Liaison Committee (CELC) oversaw the process for the finalisation of the crop production figures of commercial white and yellow maize, sunflower seed, soybeans, groundnuts and sorghum for 2025.
The estimated total production figures as released by the national Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) were revised, using the published figures of the South Africa Grain Information Services (SAGIS) of actual deliveries as the basis for the calculations. The figures from the maize, sunflower seed, soybeans, groundnuts and sorghum utilisation survey to determine on-farm usage and retentions, which was conducted by the Department of Agriculture (DoA) and the National Crop Statistics Consortium (NCSC), were added to the SAGIS delivery figures to calculate the final crop production figures.
Comparing the final calculated crop figures with the numbers set by the CEC during November 2025, the size of the commercial maize crop is now 16,650 mill. tons, which is 1,30% or 214 350 tons more than the final crop estimate figure of 16,436 mill. tons. For white maize, the recalculated crop size is 8,450 mill. tons, which is 0,86% or 71 750 tons more than the final crop estimate figure, and for yellow maize the recalculated crop size is 8,200 mill. tons, which is 1,77% or 142 600 tons more than the final crop estimate figure.
In the case of the commercial sunflower seed crop, the final calculated crop figure is 700 000 tons, which is 1,17% or 8 300 tons less than the final crop estimate figure of 708 300 tons. The soybeans crop is 2,800 mill. tons (up by 1,04% or 28 775 tons), whilst the final groundnuts crop is 63 350 tons, which is 876 tons or 1,40% more than the final crop estimate figure. The sorghum crop was also adjusted upward by 2,28% (or 3 395 tons) to 150 000 tons.
CELC accepted the final recalculated crop production figures for 2025 (please refer to the figures in the accompanying tables).
The CEC would like to thank all producers and industry role-players who provided information on a regular basis to improve the accuracy of the crop estimates. Producers, who do not participate in the Department’s monthly survey, are requested as a matter of urgency to make an effort to contribute to the crop estimates process.
| Crop | Final area planted | Final crop ¹ | CEC area planted | CEC final estimate ² | Final crop vs final estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2025 | November 2025 | November 2025 | ||
| Ha | Tons | Ha | Tons | % | |
| (A) | (B) | (C) | (D) | (B) ÷ (D) | |
| White maize | 1 599 700 | 8 450 000 | 1 599 700 | 8 378 250 | 0.86 |
| Yellow maize | 998 000 | 8 200 000 | 997 000 | 8 057 400 | 1.77 |
| Total Maize | 2 596 700 | 16 650 000 | 2 596 700 | 16 435 650 | 1.30 |
| Sunflower seed | 555 700 | 700 000 | 555 700 | 708 300 | -1.17 |
| Soybeans | 1 151 000 | 2 800 000 | 1 151 000 | 2 771 225 | 1.04 |
| Groundnuts | 48 125 | 63 350 | 48 125 | 62 474 | 1.40 |
| Sorghum | 41 150 | 150 000 | 41 150 | 146 605 | 2.32 |
¹ For ease of reference, projected figures have been rounded to the nearest 1 000 tons.
² As estimated by the CEC on 27 November 2025.
| Crop | Total ¹ | Producer deliveries reported by SAGIS ² | Projected deliveries ³ | On-farm for own use / direct sales, seed, etc |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Mar 2025 - Dec 2025) | (Jan 2026 - Feb 2026) | |||
| Tons | Tons | Tons | Tons | |
| White maize | 8 450 000 | 8 073 219 | 206 781 | 170 000 |
| Yellow maize | 8 200 000 | 7 483 677 | 321 323 | 395 000 |
| Total Maize | 16 650 000 | 15 556 896 | 528 104 | 565 000 |
| Sunflower seed | 700 000 | 694 427 | 5 573 | 0 |
| Soybeans | 2 800 000 | 2 709 892 | 43 608 | 46 500 |
| Groundnuts | 63 350 | 62 372 | 728 | 250 |
| Sorghum | 150 000 | 145 770 | 3 000 | 1 230 |
¹ Final crop production figures = SAGIS producer deliveries from 1 March to 28 February PLUS on-farm usage.
² SAGIS producer deliveries relates to the actual monthly producer deliveries, i.e. 1 March to 31 December.
³ Projected producer deliveries for maize, sunflower seed and soybeans for the month of January are based on unverified weekly producer deliveries (as recorded by SAGIS), whereas projected producer deliveries for the month of February are based on the historic trend of producer deliveries. With regard to sorghum and groundnuts, projected deliveries are based on the historic trend of producer deliveries for the month of January and February.