Household food basket: prices drop, but not for core staple foods

Although the household food basket cost marginally less in February, the prices of core staple foods remained high, making it difficult for low-income consumers to afford to feed their families and forcing them to skip nutritious foods.

According to key data from the Household Affordability Index’s household food basket for February, the household food basket cost R5 313.22, R120.48 less than in January, but R35.92 more than in February last year, when it cost R5 277.30.

The prices of 44 food items are collected by women from low-income communities at 47 supermarkets and 32 butcheries where they shop in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg, Mtubatuba in Northern KwaZulu-Natal and Springbok in the Northern Cape.

In February, the prices of 11 of the foods items increased, while the prices of 32 food items decreased and the price of oranges remained unchanged.

Food prices dropped across the egg and dairy categories, vegetables, meats, canned fish and beans, Cremora, sandwich fillers peanut butter, jam and polony and white and brown bread. According to the group this trend is similar to February 2024 when prices also fell.

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Prices of core staples in household food basket remain high

However, the group points out it is important to note that while the prices of so many food items decreased, the core staple foods of maize meal, rice, cake flour, white sugar, samp and cooking oil maintained their prices, with very little movement either up or down.

“It is these core staple foods which carry the highest rand cost in the food basket and which women tell us they buy first because these foods secure households against hunger. For affordability to be eased, the prices of the core staple foods in the household food basket would need to come down by much higher amounts,” the group says.

The total price of the 17 food items tracked as a separate index of foods which women prioritise and buy first cost R2 888.74 in February and while the prices of these food items also decreased by R47.89 in February, the group says the cost of these critical foods is still unaffordable for most South African households relative to their income.

The only food item in the household food basket that cost more than 5% more in February was margarine. Food items that cost between 2% and 5% more include stock cubes that cost 3% more and apples that cost 2% more.

Food items that cost more than 5% less include potatoes (-7%), onions (-7%), chicken feet (-6%), beef (-5%), carrots (-13%), butternut (-8%), bananas (-11%), peanut butter (-5%) and white bread (-5%).

The household food basket in all the areas cost less in February.

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VAT in the household food basket

The group also tracks the effect of VAT on the food prices in the household food basket that contains 22 food items subject to VAT, with these food items making up 47% of the total cost of the household food basket in February.

The zero-rated food items in the basket cost R2 829.12 and the food items subject to VAT cost R2 484.10, with VAT on the total household food basket amounting to R324.01. This means 6.1% of the household food basket’s price is made up of VAT.

These figures are especially important seen that the government is contemplating increasing VAT by 2% to make up for the budget shortfall. While this is an easy and effective way to collect revenue, it will be devastating for low-income consumers.

The group says a tax of R324.01 is nearly the same as the cost of an average low-income household’s requirement of 30kg maize meal per month. In February, 30kg maize meal cost R341.52, a 10kg bag of rice cost R172.25 and 10kg of flour cost R126.56.

The group says the total rand value of VAT on basic food stuffs is very high and removes money from the low-income consumers’ pockets that could be spent on more food, a wider choice of food or better quality food.

“Low-income households are highly exposed to VAT on food, not to mention all other goods and services required to function at a basic level, such as domestic and personal hygiene products, electricity, clothes and shoes, school stationery and airtime.”

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Someone earning the national minimum wage cannot afford the household food basket

Consider these prices against the national minimum wage of R27.58 an hour and R220.64 for an eight-hour day and it is clear that low-income consumers are battling to make ends meet. In February, with 20 working days, the maximum national minimum wage for a general worker was R4 412.80.

Black South African workers usually use one wage to support four people and dispersed in a worker’s family of four, the amount is R1 103.20 per person, far below the upper-bound poverty line of R1 634 per person per month.

Using Pietermaritzburg-based figures for electricity and transport and the average figure for a minimum nutritional basket of food for a family of four, the group calculates that electricity and transport take up 59.9% (R2 642.97) of a worker’s wage of R4 412,80.

They only buy food after paying for transport and electricity, leaving R1 769.83 for food and everything else. Therefore, the group calculates that workers’ families will underspend on food by a minimum of 52.6%.

“In this scenario there is no possibility of a worker being able to afford enough nutritious food for her family. If she spends the entire R1 769.83 to buy food for a family of four, it will provide R442.46 per person per month, far below the food poverty line of R796.”

The average cost to feed a child a basic nutritious diet was R951.64 in February, while the Child Support Grant was R530. This is 33% below the food poverty line of R796 and 44% below the average cost to feed a child a basic nutritious diet.

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