(Ecofin Agency) - South Africa is preparing for its a difficult harvest this year, the smallest since 2006. This was revealed by the Crop Estimates Committee which said farmers planted 0.1% less corn crops than last year.

Due to the devastating El Niño phenomenon, South Africa may reap 7.05 million metric tons of corn this season, less than the committee’s 7.07 million-ton forecast last month and than the 9.96 million tons produced in 2015, said Marda Scheepers, a senior statistician for the Pretoria-based committee. Due to the fall, the rainbow nation, which was up till now an agricultural products’ exporter, will be forced to, according to South African Grain SA lobby, import 3.8 million tons of grains, this year, in order to satisfy the local demand. 

Peanut production should also drop by 3% to 32,500 Mt while dry beans’ should be down 0.3% to 38,095 Mt and sorghum will come down 4.5% to 88,500 Mt.

However, soya and sunflower grains will not suffer the same faith, respectively up 0.4% to 694,550 Mt and 2.8% to 750,000 Mt compared to 2015.