Zimbabwe, facing a humanitarian crisis and chronic food shortages, has been South Africa's main export market over the past season. It bought 19,932 tonnes of the total white maize exports in the week.

Botswana had the second-highest purchase of 5,597 tonnes.

Yellow maize exports were 1,873 tonnes for the same week, SAGIS data showed.

South Africa, the biggest maize producer on the continent, has exported 351,055 tonnes of maize to neighbouring Zimbabwe since the beginning of the maize marketing season last May.