PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA — Sorghum production in South Africa over the next 10 years is expected to decline as producers switch to more profitable crops, according to a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The decreasing trend of sorghum production is expected to continue in the 2021-22 marketing year totaling South Africa’s output of the commodity to 160,000 tonnes, a 16% drop compared to the previous year.

Over the past 10 years, South Africa moved from a net exporter to a net importer of sorghum as domestic production decreased. The USDA estimates the country’s total sorghum imports to be about 20,000 tonnes in the 2021-22 marketing year.

Similar to imports, sorghum meal consumption is forecast to decrease to 95,000 tonnes due to an expected drop in production. Sorghum demand for the 2021-22 marketing year is anticipated to remain at 60,000 tonnes. Only 7% of sorghum in South Africa ends up as animal feed, as corn is the preferred grain used by animal feed manufacturers.