According to Standard Bank, around 62.3% of South African households are low-income earners, living on less than R86,000 per year.<\/p>\n
But of all household groups across the country, it’s the low-income households who spend the most on food – up to one third of their available income – exposing the group to high levels of food inflation.<\/p>\n
Of the R627 billion spent on food, beverages and tobacco in 2015, R285 billion (45%) came from the poorest group, showing just how many households are struggling.<\/p>\n Recent data from Africa Check confirmed that approximately 7 million people in South Africa go hungry each day, and that as many as 14 million have difficulty accessing food.<\/p>\n With rand weakness a given reality for the country for some time to come, and inflation data up in the air\u00a0– with some economists saying it could hit higher than 8% by year-end –\u00a0worse may be still to come for consumers.<\/p>\n Stat SA reported that consumer inflation retreated marginally to 6.2% in April, down from 6.3% in March. The rate is still above the South African Reserve Bank’s target of 6.0%.<\/p>\n This is how many people go hungry in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n SA inflation could hit 8.1% \u2013 economist<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Beware \u201cunnecessary\u201d food price hikes: Shoprite chief<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Percent](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Percent-of-income-on-food.png\")
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