Inflation increased by an unsettling 7.1% last week, according to StatsSA. A closer look at the data reveals a much more dismal truth: food costs have increased much more, and the issue around food prices has not abated.
This is supported by the Essential Food Price Monitoring (EFPM) report, which was published yesterday and shows that basic and necessary food items have suffered significant price hikes in the previous year. The examination looked closely at the retail and wholesale costs of basic food items such bread, all cooking oils, maize meal, rice, wheat, margarine and pasta.
Retail costs for white and brown bread skyrocketed from January to December 2022 by 20% and 19%, respectively. Maize meal’s price increased by 32%, from R26.62 to R35.29.
The most severely impacted South Africans are the weak and impoverished.