What is cereal production in South Africa?

Cereal production in South Africa was 15.31 million metric tons in 2024, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

What is the highest cereal production recorded in South Africa?

The highest recorded value was 19.59 million metric tons in 2017.

What is the lowest cereal production recorded in South Africa?

The lowest recorded value was 5.06 million metric tons in 1992.

How does South Africa rank for cereal production?

South Africa ranks 31st out of 181 countries with data for 2024.

Is cereal production rising or falling in South Africa?

Over the last ten years it is down 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South Africa data come from?

The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Cereal production (metric tons). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Cereal production in South Africa

Name: Cereal production in South Africa
Creator: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

South Africa: Cereal production was 15.31 million metric tons in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)

15.31 million metric tons

Change on year

down 19.5%

World rank

31st

of 181 countries

All-time high

19.59 million metric tons

in 2017

All-time low

5.06 million metric tons

in 1992

Years of data

1961–2024

Cereal production in South Africa, 1961–2024

Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in metric tons.

Analysis

In 2024, cereal production in South Africa stood at 15.31 million metric tons.

That represents a change of down 19.5% on the previous year and down 7.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, cereal production in South Africa peaked at 19.59 million metric tons in 2017 and was at its lowest, 5.06 million metric tons, in 1992.

South Africa ranks 31st of 181 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	7.23 million metric tons	5.84 million metric tons	11.87 million metric tons	9
1970s	10.93 million metric tons	6.47 million metric tons	13.58 million metric tons	10
1980s	12.01 million metric tons	6.67 million metric tons	18.00 million metric tons	10
1990s	11.14 million metric tons	5.06 million metric tons	15.99 million metric tons	10
2000s	12.52 million metric tons	9.45 million metric tons	15.34 million metric tons	10
2010s	14.52 million metric tons	10.63 million metric tons	19.59 million metric tons	10
2020s	18.08 million metric tons	15.31 million metric tons	19.23 million metric tons	5

Countries ranked near South Africa

28 Spain 20.86 million metric tons compare
29 Romania 20.78 million metric tons compare
30 Italy 15.45 million metric tons compare
32 Cambodia 14.38 million metric tons compare
33 Tanzania 12.79 million metric tons compare
34 Hungary 12.69 million metric tons compare

See the full ranking of 228 places →

More agriculture & rural data for South Africa

Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2025)
Rural population 36.2% (2025)
Rural population growth 0.8% (2025)
Rural population 23.43 million (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 2.8% (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 12.08 billion current US$ (2025)
Land under cereal production 3.36 million hectares (2024)
Cereal yield 4,562 kg per hectare (2024)
Fertilizer consumption 77.19 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is cereal production in South Africa?: Cereal production in South Africa was 15.31 million metric tons in 2024, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest cereal production recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 19.59 million metric tons in 2017.
What is the lowest cereal production recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was 5.06 million metric tons in 1992.
How does South Africa rank for cereal production?: South Africa ranks 31st out of 181 countries with data for 2024.
Is cereal production rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?: The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Cereal production (metric tons). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator: Cereal production (metric tons)
Unit: metric tons
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 228 places, 13,401 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded.