South Africa lowered its May 2010-April 2011 maize output forecast on Tuesday, in line with market expectations, on the back of lower production yields.

The government's Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said total maize output for the season was seen at 10.854 million tonnes, down from 10.998 million in the previous forecast.

A CEC spokeswoman said the forecast was cut to reflect lower expected yields.

An average estimate of seven trading houses polled by Reuters showed the forecast would fall to 10.857 million tonnes on lower yields related to late rains in some areas that delayed harvests.

The committee left unchanged the area cultivated under maize at 2.37 million hectares.

South Africa, the continent's biggest maize producer, harvested 12.815 million tonnes of maize in the 2009/10 season, its biggest crop in three decades.

The CEC also said South African wheat farmers had cultivated a preliminary area of 602,000 hectares of the cereal for the 2011 season, up from the 558,100 hectares planted in 2010.

"The increase is because of better prices," the spokeswoman said.

The agriculture minister said last week South Africa would harvest 1.7 million tonnes of wheat in the 2011 season, compared with 1.43 million tonnes in the previous season.

South Africa's annual wheat consumption amounts to about 3 million tonnes, and the country relies on imports to fill the deficit.

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