JOHANNESBURG, May 9 (Reuters) - South Africa's benchmark maize and wheat futures ended higher on Friday, pushed up by a firmer Chicago Board of Trade and a weaker rand.

The July white maize contract <MAWc1> rose 2.84 percent to 1,800 rand a tonne and the yellow maize contract of the same month <MAYc1> gained 2.53 percent at 1,816 rand a tonne.

"Yesterday Chicago was up, the rand weakened quite considerably, so local prices were driven up on the back of that," a Johannesburg-based trader said.

Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were higher on Thursday, as rains delayed corn plantings in the United States to the slowest pace in nearly a decade.

The May contract <WEAK8> for local wheat closed 2.54 percent higher at 3,662 rand.

Traders said the rise in global food prices, which has triggered fears about food supplies in a number of countries including South Africa, was a concern.

Soaring wheat prices have triggered increases in the price of staples such as bread, helping spark riots in several developing countries whose populations are struggling to cope with living cost increases link