Makro remains the most affordable option for essential items among the top seven grocery retailers in South Africa as of 18 December 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is according to BusinessTech\u2019s grocery basket comparison, which collected the online prices of nine staple foods and products from seven major retailers \u2013 Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Spar, Woolworths, Food Lover\u2019s Market, and Makro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grocery basket comparison now includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In some cases, store-brand alternatives are used because some stores only keep the store-brand versions of those items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The comparison covers the various retailers in several areas within Gauteng. In almost all cases, it is possible to find any of these products at a lower price or to find cheaper alternatives, depending on location or time of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to our data, the average cost for our basket of nine staple items in December was R418, which is slightly more expensive than November (R415).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Makro offered the cheapest basket in December 2023, totalling R385.81<\/strong>. This is R10.98 less than the second cheapest retailer \u2013 Food Lover’s Market (R396.79).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Woolworths had the most expensive basket at R439.91<\/strong>, which is R54.10 more than Makro. It must be noted that Spar is franchised, meaning prices and items can vary from store to store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The table below gives the breakdown of prices for each item from the eight grocery retailers and who comes out as the cheapest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest food basket data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity group (PMBEJD) shows that food prices in South Africa continue to climb \u2013 with vegetables still showing double-digit hikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across the 44 food items tracked by the group, only three came down in price, year-on-year, and one item remained flat. The balance (40 items) went up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While measuring data a month later than Stats SA\u2019s basket, the 9.9% increase is higher than the latest recorded CPI for food, which came in at 8.7% in October from 8.1% in September and 8.0% in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 19 of the 44 items in the basket are still showing double-digit price jumps compared to a year ago, and nine of these items are more than 20% higher. All of these high-increase food items are fruits, pantry essentials, and vegetables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other side of the equation, three food items have actually come down in price \u2013 onions (-15%), cooking oil (-14%), and meat pieces (-3%). <\/p>\n\n\n\nItem<\/th> Checkers <\/th> Pick n Pay <\/th> Woolworths <\/th> Spar<\/th> Shoprite<\/th> Makro<\/th> Food Lover’s<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> White Bread<\/td> R19.99<\/td> R19.99<\/td> R19.99<\/td> R19.99<\/td> R18.99<\/td> R19.99<\/td> R19.95<\/td><\/tr> Sunflower oil<\/td> R79.99<\/td> R79.99<\/td> R79.99<\/td> R69.99<\/td> R74.99<\/td> R59.95<\/td> R74.99<\/td><\/tr> Maize meal<\/td> R38.99<\/td> R35.99<\/td> R38.99<\/td> R34.99<\/td> R35.99<\/td> R29.95<\/td> R33.99<\/td><\/tr> White Sugar<\/td> R64.99<\/td> R62.99<\/td> R61.99<\/td> R64.99<\/td> R62.99<\/td> R53.58<\/td> R54.99<\/td><\/tr> Milk<\/td> R34.99<\/td> R34.99<\/td> R38.99<\/td> R34.99<\/td> R34.99<\/td> R35.95<\/td> R34.99<\/td><\/tr> Rice<\/td> R41.99<\/td> R41.99<\/td> R42.99<\/td> R49.99<\/td> R41.99<\/td> R41.95<\/td> R39.99<\/td><\/tr> Flour<\/td> R42.99<\/td> R42.99<\/td> R41.99<\/td> R42.99<\/td> R39.99<\/td> R44.95<\/td> R39.99<\/td><\/tr> Soap<\/td> R17.99<\/td> R17.99<\/td> R17.99<\/td> R17.99<\/td> R17.99<\/td> R16.95<\/td> R17.95<\/td><\/tr> Toilet paper<\/td> R79.99<\/td> R89.99<\/td> R96.99<\/td> R99.99<\/td> R89.99<\/td> R77.45<\/td> R79.95<\/td><\/tr> Total <\/strong><\/td> R421.91<\/strong><\/td> R426.91<\/strong><\/td> R439.91<\/mark><\/strong><\/td> R435.91<\/strong><\/td> R417.91<\/strong><\/td> R385.81<\/mark><\/strong><\/td> R396.79<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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