Acknowledgements

Without the help, guidance and support of a few individuals, this study could never have been completed successfully. I would like to express my gratitude to each and every one of them: My supervisor, Prof. J.H.P. van Heerden, for his patience, motivation and enthusiasm. His competent guidance was of immense value to me. My colleagues at the School of Economics. Risk Management and International Trade, for their support. The personnel at the Potchefstroom branch of the Ferdinand Postma Library, for their assistance in the collection of the sources necessary for the completion of this study. Ms. Emsie Roode (MA (English)), who was responsible for editing the document. My husband, Joubert, for the way in which he stood by me through the whole process. My parents, Willem and Loekie Mans, my grandmother, Lullu Els and my friends Waldo, Andrea, Joseph-John, Hannelie, Karin, Steven and Annelie, for their support and motivation. The purpose of the study is to construct and test a regression equation that could explain the price of white maize futures contracts in South Africa. An error correction model with AR(2)-error terms are used in the regression analysis