{"id":748724,"date":"2024-02-06T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=748724"},"modified":"2024-02-05T17:37:57","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T15:37:57","slug":"6-food-items-with-prices-that-have-rocketed-by-over-60-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/748724\/6-food-items-with-prices-that-have-rocketed-by-over-60-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"These food prices have shot up over 60% in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The prices of several food items often found in shopping baskets across all income brackets have increased by over 60% in the last six years \u2013 with some even doubling inflation over the same period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is shown by The Outlier’s new tool<\/a>, which is currently tracking the price of 11 items found in South Africa’s essential basket of food items using Stat SA’s data dating back to 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the data, the price of six of the 11 food items increased well over 60% over the six-year period \u2013 almost doubling that of inflation over the same period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to inflation.eu \u2013 a worldwide inflation data platform \u2013 South Africa’s Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) has been around 34% since 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means the top three items – potatoes, eggs, and instant coffee \u2013 more than doubled inflation, while others like sugar, tomatoes, and rice where close to doing the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 11 food items analysed are shown in the table below, including their prices in 2017 and 2023, as well as the percentage change in price over the period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food item<\/th>2017 price<\/th>2023 price<\/th>% change <\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Potato (per kg)<\/td>R12.51<\/td>R22.46<\/td>+79.53%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
Eggs (18-pack)<\/td>R37.17<\/td>R68.49<\/td>+79.43%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
Instant coffee (250g)<\/td>R34.83<\/td>R58.55<\/td>+68.10%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
White sugar (2.5kg)<\/td>R37.18<\/td>R61.64<\/td>+65.78%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
Tomatoes (per kg)<\/td>R16.04<\/td>R26.22<\/td>+63.46%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
Rice (1kg)<\/td>R18.65<\/td>R30.07<\/td>+61.23%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
Spaghetti (500g)<\/td>R13.15<\/td>R19.73<\/td>+50.03%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
Whole chicken (per kg)<\/td>R43.69<\/td>R65.39<\/td>+49.66%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
Beef mince (per kg)<\/td>R71.34<\/td>R104.37<\/td>+46.30%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
White bread (700g) <\/td>R13.41<\/td>R18.50<\/td>+38.63%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr>
Full cream milk (2L)<\/td>R26.06<\/td>R34.92<\/td>+34.00%<\/mark><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Notably, the food items that have seen the steepest increases since 2017 have also seen a double-digit increase compared to just one year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Stats SA’s latest data, potatoes increased by a whopping 51.9% as of December 2023 compared to 2022. This was followed by eggs (38%), sugar (24.6%), and rice (19.9%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you look at a more expensive comparison of food prices \u2013 such as the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity group (PMBEJD) data \u2013 you’ll find dozens of other items have seen a significant increase in price compared to CPI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PMBEJD\u2019s basket comprises 44 food items that most households in South Africa would purchase in a typical month. While this reflects a lower-income basket, this is what the majority of households would look at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the 44 food items tracked by the group, only four came down in price, year-on-year, with Onions (-27%) and Cooking oil (-15%) seeing the largest price drops. The balance (40 items) went up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24 food items saw double-digit growth year-on-year, reflecting significant increases \u2013 and nine were over 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, these increases are higher than the latest recorded CPI for food, which came in at 5.1% in December 2023 from 5.5% in November and 5.9% in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These 24 food items have seen double-digit price hikes in South Africa<\/a><\/blockquote>