The most expensive province for groceries in South Africa
In August 2025, Johannesburg continues to be the most expensive city among South Africa’s three major metros for groceries for four consecutive months, followed by Durban and then Cape Town.
This is according to data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity (PMBEJD) group, which tracks the cost of a household food basket across the three major provinces.
The PMBEJD report found that while 16 of the 44 tracked food items became cheaper or saw no increases year-on-year, 28 experienced price hikes, with 8 items seeing double-digit inflation.
Additionally, inflation increased to 3.5% in July, rising from 3.0% in June. Headline inflation was also up 0.9% month-on-month.
The increase was driven by significant increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages (Food NAB) and housing and utilities.
According to Stats SA, Food NAB has been ticking higher throughout the year, with meat and vegetables in particular showing double-digit inflation for the month.
Food NAB, continued to rise in July, increasing from 5.2% y/y in June to 5.7% y/y in July. Meat, vegetables and ‘other food’ fuelled the uptick. Meat, specifically beef, remains the main driver.
The annual rate for meat accelerated to 10.5% in July, extending a strong upward trend that began in February.
On average, beef prices increased by 28.8% over the past 12 months and by 7.6% between June and July.
Inflation for hot beverages cooled for a third straight month to 8.9% in July, down from a peak of 17.5% recorded in August last year.
Some good news on the coffee front. Instant coffee prices declined slightly between June and July, pulling the annual rate down to its lowest level since January 2024.
Prices for cappuccino sachets decreased for a second consecutive month.
The dairy and eggs category remained in deflationary territory. Several products are cheaper than a year ago, including maize-based food drinks, eggs, and certain milk varieties.
Most expensive city for groceries
As of the end of August 2025, the average cost of a household food basket in South Africa, comprising 44 essential items that reflect typical purchasing patterns, reached R5,380.62.
This is a 2.9% annual increase of R153.48 compared to August 2024. Month-on-month, the basket price decreased by R62.10 compared to July 2025.
However, a breakdown of costs in each city shows that the change in food prices is higher in some areas than others.
In August 2025, the household food basket cost R5,547.99 in Johannesburg, a 2.2% increase of R118.62 from the previous year.This is also R108.44 less than the recorded basket price of R5,656.43 in July.
Despite the decrease, Joburg’s basket price surpassed the national average by R167.37, making Johannesburg the most expensive metro for groceries.
In comparison, Cape Town overtook Durban as the cheapest city for groceries, although it still recorded an annual increase.
Durban’s food basket, recorded at R5,253.08, decreased by R105.01 (2.0%) from R5,358.09 in July 2025.
Despite this, the city saw an annual increase of 0.7% or R36.37 from R5,216.71 in August 2024. However, this is still R294.91 less expensive than Johannesdurg.
Meanwhile, Cape Town’s food basket has seen a significant annual increase, much higher than in Johannesburg and Durban.
Cape Town’s food basket decreased by R57.76 (1.1%) from R5,371.35 in July 2025 to R5,311.59 in August 2025.
However, year-on-year, the Cape Town household food basket cost increased by a notable R242.64 (4.8%) from R5,068.95 in August 2024.
Despite the significant increases, Cape Town is still R236.40 cheaper than Johannesburg and R69.03 cheaper than the national average.
Food basket comparison between the three major cities
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