52 6.2.1. Western parts of the country An example of the maize budgets and their performance against other crops is shown in Table 6.1. The yield scenarios were based on assumptions for production conditions in the Western Part of the country (North West province and North West Central Free State). This table was compiled to indicate the difference in profitability between the various summer crops (maize, sunflower, soybeans). It's important to understand that these figures can differ depending on the producer. While Table 6.1 shows estimated production costs for the North West province and North West Central Free State. Figure 6.3 (on page 54) illustrates the gross- and net margin situation. The key fact is that sunflower (on paper) remains a stalwart crop for the North West province, although the occurrence of diseases (specifically Sclerotinia) on sunflowers has been affecting yields in the last few seasons. According to calculations, should the SAFEX prices materialise, summer grain production in the western parts of the country generally seems to be relatively profitable, excluding maize that is planted on marginal yield potential soils when total input costs (fixed costs plus variable costs) are taken into consideration. Crop Maize (Bt) Sunflower Soybean Groundnuts Maize (irrigation) 1) INCOME Yield target (t/ha) 5 1,25 1,75 1,20 11 SAFEX price: Best grade R4 455 R9 600 R7 400 R14 275 R4 455 Deductions R418 R429 R189 R63 R418 Net farm gate price R4 037 R9 171 R7 211 R14 212 R4 037 GROSS INCOME (R/ha) R20 185 R11 464 R12 619 R17 055 R44 407 2) VARIABLE EXPENDITURES Seed R2 046,59 R806,63 R1 269,60 R1 760,50 R4 618,75 Fertiliser R3 838,94 R1 331,10 R2 351,60 R1 324,10 R12 503 Lime R760 R760 R760 R760 R760 Fuel R1 533,11 R1 312,89 R1 047,41 R1 481,94 R1 308,38 Reparation R1 469,16 R1 052,53 R1 412,29 R1 815,24 R1 254,65 Crop protection R2 032,44 R1 112,34 R2 880,56 R2 151,51 R1 852,17 Input insurance R726,66 R223,54 R246,14 - - Irrigation cost R7 803,40 Grain hedging R1 028,11 R201,03 R601,76 - R2 594,49 Contract harvesting - - - - - Harvest insurance R422 R229,28 R883,59 R224,65 R1 109,27 Aerial spray - - - - - Casual labour - - - R1 050 - Drying cost - - - - - Packaging and packaging material - - - R247 - Interest on production (R/ha) R853,96 R448,12 R730,13 R640,72 R2 155,01 TOTAL VARIABLE EXPENDITURE (R/ha) R14 710,95 R7 477,46 R12 183,08 R11 455,65 R35 959,11 TOTAL FIXED COST (R/ha) R2 652,91 R2 282,30 R1 755,08 R2 541,85 R3 582,62 TOTAL COST (R/ha) R17 363,86 R9 759,76 R13 938,16 R13 997,50 R39 541,73 3) GROSS MARGIN (R/ha) R5 474 R3 986 R436 R5 599 R8 448 4) NET MARGIN (R/ha) R2 821 R1 704 -R1 319 R3 057 R4 865 Table 6.1: North West production cost budgets for summer grain for the 2025/2026 season. Source: Grain SA INCOME AND PRODUCTION COST
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