South African food prices expected to drop in 2017: economist
South African consumers can expect good news within the coming months as food price inflation is expected to decrease throughout the year says economist, Dawie Roodt.
According to a report by The Herald, Roodt attributed the food price decreases to the recovery of the agricultural sector after last year’s drought, which should account for a significant portion of his growth forecast for the year.
Roodt noted that the news was not all good, however, stating that the country needed growth rates of between 4% and 5% – instead of the 1.6% predicted by government – to become economically stable.
The Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (Pacsa) recently released its food barometer for January 2017, showing how food prices in its nutritional basket have changed over the past 12 months.
Year-on-year, the Pacsa food basket – which tracks a nutritionally complete set of products – increased by R295.91 (16.5%) from R1,797.04 in January 2016 to R2,092.95 in January 2017.
Pacsa noted that children and the elderly in poor households are at particular risk, with the current 2017 value of a Child Support Grant (R360 per month) and old-age pension (R1,510 per month) unable to keep up with food price inflation.
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