Food basket price increases, core foods remain expensive

The average price of the household food basket increased again in September, with core foods remaining expensive, making it difficult for low-income consumers to feed their families a nutritious diet.

Key data from the September 2024 Household Affordability Index, which tracks the prices of 44 basic foods from 47 supermarkets and 32 butcheries, in Johannesburg (Soweto, Alexandra, Tembisa and Hillbrow), Durban (KwaMashu, Umlazi, Isipingo, Durban CBD, Hammarsdale and Pinetown), Cape Town (Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Philippi, Langa, Delft and Dunoon), Pietermaritzburg, Mtubatuba (in Northern KwaZulu-Natal), and Springbok (in the Northern Cape), shows that the average cost of the household food basket was R5 255.68 in September, R28.54 (0,5%) more than in August and R99.91 more than in September 2023.

Women from low-income communities do a survey of the food prices where they shop for their families for the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group. the group says the women say core foods, or foods they prioritise and buy first, remain expensive.

These foods ensure that families do not go hungry and also form the primary basis for meals, such as starches that include maize meal, rice, flour, samp, potatoes and bread, as well as ingredients that enable them to cook meals, such as oil and ingredients that make meals taste good, such as salt, onions, stock cubes and sugar.

These 17 food items cost R2 860.84 in September and cost more than in August. The group says considering the value of social grants and minimum wages, families even struggle to afford these basic foods and basic hygiene products.

“For a healthy populace, it is important that the cost of these foods is affordable, as this may allow women to include more nutritious foods into their household baskets, such as eggs, maas, vegetables, fruit and meat.

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Food prices that increased and decreased in household food basket

According to the food pricing trends in September, 23 food items cost more, while 21 food items cost less:

• Food items in the household food basket that cost more than 5% more include: maize meal (5%), potatoes (11%), tomatoes (10%), carrots (5%), butternut (5%), bananas (11%) and apples (5%).
• Food items that cost between 2% and 5% more include cake flour (2%), samp (3%), cooking oil (3%), curry powder (2%), tinned pilchards (2%) and brown bread (3%).
• Food items in the household food basket that cost more than 5% less include onions (-17%), salt (-5%) and chicken livers (-7%).
• Food items in the basket that cost between 2% and 5% less include rice (-2%), frozen chicken portions (-2%), soup (-2%), eggs (-3%), beef liver (-2%), fish (-3%), spinach (-2%), cabbage (-3%), canned baked beans (-4%), oranges (-2%) and apricot jam (-3%).

According to Statistics SA’s latest Consumer Price Index for August, headline inflation was 4,4%, while it was 4.1% for food inflation, excluding non-alcoholic beverages. Statistics SA’s producer price inflation for August shows it was 7.3% for agriculture.

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Household food basket prices in various cities and towns

In September, the price of the household food baskets increased in Johannesburg, Durban, Springbok, Pietermaritzburg and Mtubatuba, while the price decreased slightly for the average basket in Cape Town:

• The price of the Johannesburg basket increased by R53.28 compared to August and by R231.75 compared to a year ago.
• The price of the Durban basket increased by R10.02 compared to August, and by R219.58 compared to a year ago.
• The price of the Cape Town basket decreased by R28.76 compared to August and by R132.23 compared to a year ago.
• The price of the Springbok basket increased by R51.59 compared to August and by R31.66 compared to a year ago.
• The price of the Pietermaritzburg basket increased by R24.98 compared to August and by R72.29 compared to a year ago.
• The price of the Mtubatuba basket increased by R134.29 compared to August and by R72.61 compared to a year ago.

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The cost of feeding a child a nutritious diet

It was once again clear that low-income consumers battle to feed their children a nutritious diet. In September, the average cost to feed a child a basic nutritious diet was R941.51, an increase of R1.89 compared to August and R34.08 more than a year ago.

This must be seen against the background of the Child Support Grant of only R530, which is 33% below the Food Poverty Line of R796 after it was adjusted upwards for 2024 and 44% below the average cost to feed a child a basic nutritious diet of R941.51.

Low-income consumers earning the National Minimum Wage of R27.58 an hour and R220.64 for an 8-hour day earned R4 412.80 in September with 20 working days. Black South African workers usually support 4.1 people. Dispersed in a worker’s family of 4 people, the wage is R1 103.20 per person, well below the upper-bound poverty line of R1 634 per person per month.

The average cost of a basic nutritional food basket for a family of four was R3 692.09 in September. The group calculates that using Pietermaritzburg-based figures for electricity and transport and the average figure for a minimum nutritional basket of food for a family of four, that electricity and transport take up R2 642.97 of a worker’s wage of R4 412.80.

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Very little left for household food basket after paying for electricity and transport

They only buy food after paying for transport and electricity, leaving only R1 769.83 – for food and everything else and therefore the group calculates that workers’ families will underspend on food by a minimum of 52,1% as they only have R1 769.83 left over and the basket of nutritious food costs R3 692.09.

“In this scenario, there is no possibility of a worker being able to afford enough nutritious food for her family. If the entire R1 769.83 went to buy food, a family of four people can get food for only R442.46 per person per month, far below the food poverty line of R796.

The families of low-income workers also battle to afford hygiene products although the Household Domestic and Personal Hygiene Index shows a decrease of R23.96 compared to the previous month.