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<\/p>\nThe village of Sodwana Bay in remote northeastern South Africa is renowned among scuba divers and deep-sea fishermen for its sharks, rays, marlin and seahorses. Lately, it\u2019s been getting a reputation for expensive chips.<\/p>\n
The cost of potatoes jumped 28% over the past two months, the biggest increase of any single ingredient in Bloomberg\u2019s Shisa Nyama Index.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe price of potatoes went mad,\u201d said Brendan Brokensha, who owns three Sodwana eateries, including the Beach Kiosk, where a small serving of chips now costs R35.<\/p>\n
Crunching data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity group, Bloomberg\u2019s index tracks the prices of some of the key ingredients in a traditional braai consumed in South Africa\u2019s townships \u2014 known as a shisa nyama.<\/p>\n
Corn meal, onions, carrots, tomatoes, curry powder, salt, beef and wors \u2014 a type of sausage \u2014 are among the other items that make up the index.<\/p>\n
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The gauge shows prices on average rose 23% in February from a year earlier. That far outstripped the 6.9% increase in overall consumer prices and 13.8% climb in food costs, according to the latest data from South Africa\u2019s statistics agency.<\/p>\n
The Shisa Nyama Index suggests it\u2019s going to be a tough 2023 for low-income earners in South Africa \u2014 which has an unemployment rate of 32.7% and power shortages that have resulted in rolling blackouts every day this year.<\/p>\n
Fuel-price increases and heavy rainfall in the first two months of the year have also impacted the cost of some foodstuffs. President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster over the energy crisis on 9 February and one over flooding four days later.<\/p>\n
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To compile its household affordability survey, PMBEJD data collectors track food prices on the shelves of 44 supermarkets and 30 butcheries that target the low-income market in and around Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg and the northwestern town of Springbok.<\/p>\n
During South Africa\u2019s peak tourist seasons, Brokensha buys as many as 150 bags of potatoes a week. A 10-kilogram bag cost R89 at the only supermarket in the small nearby town of Mbwanza for most of 2022, but toward the end of the year, the price jumped to R110, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe excuse was that there was so much rain that the crop was affected,\u201d Brokensha said. Instead of buying locally, he\u2019s switched to buying his potatoes from a local woman who takes a truck northwest to Limpopo to stock up on cheaper produce.<\/p>\n
Supply Constraints<\/strong><\/p>\n Industry body Potatoes SA\u2019s research shows that the supply of potatoes declined in February to the lowest in at least five years, while the average price for all classes of the vegetable rose. The Shisa Nyama Index recorded a 41% year-on-year increase in the price of the tubers in February.<\/p>\n The PMBEJD\u2019s data shows that last month, across the five big centres it covers, a bag of potatoes was most expensive in Springbok at R99.03, followed by the KwaZulu-Natal port city of Durban, at R96.14 \u2014 7% more costly than the average price.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not only the cost of potatoes that hurt \u2014 labour costs also go up every year, said Brokensha, who has limited scope to raise his own prices.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a small business owner, when the food prices keep rising, there\u2019s nothing you can do,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you can change your portion sizes.\u201d<\/p>\n
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