Free tool
South Africa crop profit calculator
Add up your input costs in ZAR, see your profit and the harvest you need to break even, and compare crops before you plant. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Enter your field size, harvest and selling price to see your profit. Add your costs to see what to buy.
Tracking inputs, stock and sales across a whole farm? We build custom systems.
Starting prices
| Crop | Price |
|---|---|
| White maize | ZAR 4,036 per tonne |
| Yellow maize | ZAR 4,045 per tonne |
| Wheat | ZAR 5,933 per tonne |
| Soybeans | ZAR 9,480 per tonne |
| Sunflower | ZAR 10,150 per tonne |
Spot prices change daily, and what you receive is lower once transport to the silo is taken off. Enter your own delivered or on-farm price.
Prices dated 8 October 2026. Source: Grain SA morning market report. This is an estimate, not financial advice.
Questions
- What harvest does white maize need to break even in South Africa?
- It depends on your costs. If yours came to ZAR 15,000 per hectare, then at ZAR 4,036 per tonne you’d need 4 tonnes per hectare just to cover them. That cost is only an example, so enter your own above.
- Where do the starting prices come from?
- Each one is the spot price on the JSE grain market, as of 8 October 2026. It’s a starting point for South Africa, not a price anyone has promised you.
- Which crop should I plant?
- Add up to three crops and the calculator ranks them by profit per hectare. It also shows each one with a smaller harvest, because the crop that earns most in a good year isn’t always the safest.