{"id":647277,"date":"2022-11-29T13:58:20","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T11:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=647277"},"modified":"2022-11-29T14:05:45","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T12:05:45","slug":"food-prices-shoot-up-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/647277\/food-prices-shoot-up-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Food prices shoot up in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest Household Affordability Index by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity group (PMBEJD) shows that food prices in South Africa continue to rise in November.<\/p>\n

For November, the group\u2019s basket of nutritional foods came to R4,835.96 up by R48.13 (1%), from R4,787.83 in October 2022, and up R563.52 (13.2%), from R4,272.44 in November 2021.<\/p>\n

The year-on-year increase outstrips headline inflation by quite a considerable margin, and even food inflation tracked by Stats SA. Headline inflation was recorded at 7.6% in October 2022, up marginally from 7.5% in September 2022.<\/p>\n

Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 12.0% year on year, and were one of the key drivers behind the surprise increase in headline inflation.<\/p>\n

According to Stats SA,\u00a0bread & cereals, meat and dairy are currently driving food prices higher in South Africa.<\/p>\n

The bread and cereals category continues to witness high levels of inflation, with the annual rate increasing to 19.5% from 19.3% in September. Large monthly price increases were recorded for sweet biscuits (5.5%), macaroni (3.1%) and maize meal (1.7%).<\/p>\n

Annual\u00a0meat inflation also quickened in October, rising to 10.5%\u00a0from 9.9% in September. Beef prices registered large monthly increases, most notably steak (2.5%), stewing beef (1.2%) and mince (1.1%).<\/p>\n

The dairy index (milk, eggs & cheese) registered an annual increase of 10.5%, the highest rate since February 2017 (10.7%). Products recording significant monthly increases include long-life full-cream milk (3.5%), fresh full-cream milk (1.8%) and cheddar cheese (1.2%).<\/p>\n

These price jumps are also reflected in the PMBEJD’s data, which shows milk prices up 12%, bread prices up 20% and meat prices up between 6% and 16%.<\/p>\n

The PMBEJD said that food prices are notoriously unpredictable and differ from area to area, thanks to various push and pull factors influencing costs.<\/p>\n

In November 2022, food basket prices actually decreased in Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg, while food baskets increased in Joburg, Durban, and Springbok.<\/p>\n

The data shows a switch \u2013 the areas which saw a decrease in October (Durban, Springbok), saw an increase in November – and those that increased in October have now come down. However, these shifts are marginal compared to the bigger picture year-on-year, where prices have shot up significantly.<\/p>\n

The group noted these regional variations:<\/p>\n