![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Braai-Index-YTD-October-25.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMonth-on-month index change [+1.2%<\/mark><\/mark>]<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Braai-index-October-25-MOM-901x1024.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nYear-on-year index change [+1.6%<\/mark>]<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Braai-index-October-25-YOY-897x1024.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nInflation pressure easing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It is evident from the index that meat prices are currently driving food inflation, even as headline inflation remains favourable and fairly stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest inflation data from Stats SA (for September) recorded CPI at 3.4% y\/y, but the average over nine months is still 3.1% – close to the South African Reserve Bank’s preferred target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Investec Chief Economist Annabel Bishop, 2025’s average inflation so far shows a remarkable cooling from the pressure households have faced over the last five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inflation averaged 4.4% in 2024, 5.9% in 2023 and 6.9% in 2022. The climb started in 2020, where inflation averaged 3.3%, moving up to 4.6% in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bishop said that a standout point in the data for September, however, is that food price inflation was not a significant driver of CPI inflation for the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In September, food price inflation dropped to 4.4% y\/y from 5.2% y\/y in August, as prices fell by -0.4% m\/m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was a substantial drop driven by lower fruit (-0.7% m\/m), vegetables (-5.5% m\/m) and dairy prices (-0.4% m\/m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Processed food prices fell by -0.9% m\/m, as the inflation rate lowered from 6.5% y\/y in August to 5.1% y\/y in September, indicating demand is still weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Bishop acknowledged that meat price inflation remains elevated at 11.7% y\/y, up 0.5% m\/m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citing the Agricultural Business Chamber, Bishop said that panic buying, rather than product shortages, is the main driver of higher meat prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was due to concerns over the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease at the country’s biggest feedlots earlier in the year. As the issue is being handled, slaughtering has resumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking ahead, October’s data is expected to be muted, benefiting from lower fuel prices and a stronger rand\u2014despite higher international food prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The Bloomberg consensus sees the average for CPI inflation for this year at 3.4% y\/y, slightly higher than our 3.2% y\/y,” Bishop said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Despite the overall cooling of food price inflation, certain categories like meat are still running hot, making it a costly affair to have a braai at the moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":841295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[19853,1850,21654],"class_list":["post-841282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-annabel-bishop","tag-bloomberg","tag-braai-index"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841282"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":841298,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841282\/revisions\/841298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nYear-on-year index change [+1.6%<\/mark>]<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nInflation pressure easing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It is evident from the index that meat prices are currently driving food inflation, even as headline inflation remains favourable and fairly stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest inflation data from Stats SA (for September) recorded CPI at 3.4% y\/y, but the average over nine months is still 3.1% – close to the South African Reserve Bank’s preferred target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Investec Chief Economist Annabel Bishop, 2025’s average inflation so far shows a remarkable cooling from the pressure households have faced over the last five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inflation averaged 4.4% in 2024, 5.9% in 2023 and 6.9% in 2022. The climb started in 2020, where inflation averaged 3.3%, moving up to 4.6% in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bishop said that a standout point in the data for September, however, is that food price inflation was not a significant driver of CPI inflation for the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In September, food price inflation dropped to 4.4% y\/y from 5.2% y\/y in August, as prices fell by -0.4% m\/m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was a substantial drop driven by lower fruit (-0.7% m\/m), vegetables (-5.5% m\/m) and dairy prices (-0.4% m\/m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Processed food prices fell by -0.9% m\/m, as the inflation rate lowered from 6.5% y\/y in August to 5.1% y\/y in September, indicating demand is still weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Bishop acknowledged that meat price inflation remains elevated at 11.7% y\/y, up 0.5% m\/m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citing the Agricultural Business Chamber, Bishop said that panic buying, rather than product shortages, is the main driver of higher meat prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was due to concerns over the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease at the country’s biggest feedlots earlier in the year. As the issue is being handled, slaughtering has resumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking ahead, October’s data is expected to be muted, benefiting from lower fuel prices and a stronger rand\u2014despite higher international food prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The Bloomberg consensus sees the average for CPI inflation for this year at 3.4% y\/y, slightly higher than our 3.2% y\/y,” Bishop said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Despite the overall cooling of food price inflation, certain categories like meat are still running hot, making it a costly affair to have a braai at the moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":841295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[19853,1850,21654],"class_list":["post-841282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-annabel-bishop","tag-bloomberg","tag-braai-index"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841282"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":841298,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841282\/revisions\/841298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nInflation pressure easing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It is evident from the index that meat prices are currently driving food inflation, even as headline inflation remains favourable and fairly stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest inflation data from Stats SA (for September) recorded CPI at 3.4% y\/y, but the average over nine months is still 3.1% – close to the South African Reserve Bank’s preferred target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Investec Chief Economist Annabel Bishop, 2025’s average inflation so far shows a remarkable cooling from the pressure households have faced over the last five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inflation averaged 4.4% in 2024, 5.9% in 2023 and 6.9% in 2022. The climb started in 2020, where inflation averaged 3.3%, moving up to 4.6% in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bishop said that a standout point in the data for September, however, is that food price inflation was not a significant driver of CPI inflation for the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In September, food price inflation dropped to 4.4% y\/y from 5.2% y\/y in August, as prices fell by -0.4% m\/m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was a substantial drop driven by lower fruit (-0.7% m\/m), vegetables (-5.5% m\/m) and dairy prices (-0.4% m\/m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Processed food prices fell by -0.9% m\/m, as the inflation rate lowered from 6.5% y\/y in August to 5.1% y\/y in September, indicating demand is still weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Bishop acknowledged that meat price inflation remains elevated at 11.7% y\/y, up 0.5% m\/m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citing the Agricultural Business Chamber, Bishop said that panic buying, rather than product shortages, is the main driver of higher meat prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was due to concerns over the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease at the country’s biggest feedlots earlier in the year. As the issue is being handled, slaughtering has resumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking ahead, October’s data is expected to be muted, benefiting from lower fuel prices and a stronger rand\u2014despite higher international food prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The Bloomberg consensus sees the average for CPI inflation for this year at 3.4% y\/y, slightly higher than our 3.2% y\/y,” Bishop said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Despite the overall cooling of food price inflation, certain categories like meat are still running hot, making it a costly affair to have a braai at the moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":841295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[19853,1850,21654],"class_list":["post-841282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-annabel-bishop","tag-bloomberg","tag-braai-index"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841282"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":841298,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841282\/revisions\/841298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}