Woolworths Food’s true price increases – 2022 compared to 2023

An analysis by BusinessTech revealed that Woolworths Food prices increased by just under 10.5% between August 2022 and August 2023 – almost in line with South Africa’s latest food inflation.

For this analysis, we tracked the prices of 28 Woolworths Food products in multiple categories over the last year.

The products included milk, bread, fruit, prepaid meals, sweets, sauces, meats, and breakfast foods.

The analysis revealed that 22 of the 28 products increased in price, while four products’ prices remained the same, and two products reduced in price.

The products which saw the biggest price increases were mango orange and carrot juice, red onions, and a serving of Low-fat guava pear and raspberry yoghurt.

The products where prices remained stable were a chocolate delight dessert, plain bagels 4-pack, Angus 8 thick beef burgers 800g, and salad tomatoes. The only products which experienced price decreases were free-range large eggs and cooking olive oil.

The average price increase for the basket of 28 products was 10.46%, which is slightly higher (only 0.56%) than South Africa’s latest food inflation figure of 9.9%, recorded by Stats SA in July 2023.

However, the increase in Woolworths Food’s products was notably higher than the year-on-year increase recorded by the Household Affordability Index conducted by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD) in August 2023.

The PMBEJD basket has 44 core food items that are regularly bought by South African consumers. The index revealed that food prices in South Africa increased by R348.75 (7.3%) year-on-year, where a basket of goods cost R5,124.34 in August 2023 from R4,775.59 last year.

The PMBEJD also gives some evidence as to why some Woolworths products have increased more than others.

For example, according to the data, the price of oranges and carrots increased by 30% and 22%, respectively, which is likely why the Mango orange carrot juice tops the list at 36.7%. Similarly, onions increased by 84%, with Woolworths’ red onions sitting in third with an increase of 23.3%.

Woolworths Food price increases from 2022 to 2023

The table below shows the Woolworths Food price increases between August 2022 and August 2023.

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