South Africa’s 2016 maize output fell 22 per cent following an El Nino-induced drought that impacted crop outputs, a government agency said on Friday.

The Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) said in its final 2016 figures in Johannesburg that the maize totalled 7.779 million tonnes compared with 9.955 million tonnes harvested in the previous year.

El Nino is a climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean with a global impact on weather patterns.

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