PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA — Having produced its largest corn crop on record this year at 3.6 million tonnes, Zambia will have 1.5 million tonnes available for export in 2021-22, according to a Global Agricultural Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The report noted, however, that regional demand for corn is weaker than usual as most countries in southern Africa produced above-average crops in 2021. South Africa, for instance, produced its second-largest corn crop ever and Zimbabwe produced its largest crop since 1984.

The USDA estimates that Zambia’s corn exports will be limited to about 700,000 tonnes and “consequently stock levels at the end of the 2021-22 marketing year will increase by 57% to 1.3 million tonnes.”

Over the last 20 years Zambia has more than doubled corn production through a combination of increased area and productivity, turning the country into a net exporter of corn, the USDA report noted.