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Higher fuel prices and rolling blackouts imposed by the state power utility are among the factors that have contributed to rising input costs across the food chain, research conducted by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy shows.<\/p>\n
The power cuts, known locally as load shedding, have also reduced the shelf life of tomatoes and other food that requires refrigeration. That\u2019s prompted consumers like Pillay to shop more frequently to reduce wastage.<\/p>\n
Over the past two years, production expenses have \u201cincreased dramatically, putting margins under pressure and resulting in producers planting fewer hectares,\u201d said Marlene Louw, a senior agricultural economist at Absa AgriBusiness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is especially apparent in onions, where persistently lower volumes have resulted in prices almost doubling compared to the corresponding time last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
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, the northwestern town of Springbok and the far northeastern town of Mtubatuba.<\/p>\n
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The group\u2019s data shows that across the six centres it tracks, two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of green peppers is most expensive in Mtubatuba at R99.97, with Cape Town the next most costly at R69.18. A six-kilogram bag of tomatoes cost most in Springbok at R167.94 last month, followed by Mtubatuba where the fruit costs R157.94.<\/p>\n
The price spike has also impacted on food vendors like White Edison, who has sold vegetables in Johannesburg\u2019s central business district for the past 17 years to support his wife and two sons who live in Malawi.<\/p>\n
While he now pays as much as R300 for an 18-kilogram box of tomatoes, he\u2019s been unable to raise his prices because his customers are already cash-strapped and has instead reduced the size of his retail packs.<\/p>\n
Prices have gone up in the past, \u201cbut not like this year, never,\u201d said Edison, 38, whose financial predicament has been made even worse because he is paying more for his own food and taxi fares.<\/p>\n
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