No respite for your pockets, as food prices continue to rise

While the country gears up to ensure that 2022 goes better financially than the past two years, South Africa’s poorest citizens are still battling to put food on the table, with the food basket survey for December indicating a consistent increase in prices, with only two small decreases noted in the baskets for Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg.

According to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group’s Household Affordability Index‘s food basket survey, the cost of the average household food basket increased by R3,50 from R4 272,44 in November to R4 275,94 in December 2021 while it increased by R273,52 from R4 002,42 in December 2020 to R4 275,94 in December 2021.

The Household Food Basket was designed with women living on low incomes in Johannesburg (Soweto, Alexandra, Tembisa, Hillbrow), Cape Town (Gugulethu, Philippi, Khayelitsha, Langa, Delft, Dunoon), Durban (KwaMashu, Umlazi, Isipingo, Durban CBD, Mtubatuba), Springbok (Northern Cape) and Pietermaritzburg in mind.

The basket of 44 food items includes the foods and volumes women living in families of seven members say they typically try to buy each month, given affordability constraints. The women collect the data on food prices at 44 supermarkets and 30 butcheries that target the low-income market.

The Household Food Basket is not nutritionally complete.

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Nutritious food takes a backseat to filling stomachs

According to the group, the cost of the foods prioritised and bought first is important as the women buy core foods first to ensure that families do not go hungry. However, when the prices of core foods increase, they have less money to secure other important, mostly nutritionally rich foods, which are essential for health and well-being and strong immune systems, such as meat, eggs, and dairy, which are critical for protein, iron and calcium.

They also need vegetables and fruit which are critical for vitamins, minerals, and fibre, as well as Maas, peanut butter and pilchards, which supply good fats, protein and calcium essential for children. The data shows that the core foods contribute 54% of the total cost of the basket.

At an average cost of R2302,53 in December, these foods are relatively expensive in relation to the total money available in the household to buy food, but the women must buy these foods regardless of price escalations. The high cost of core staple foods forces the women to remove most proper nutritious food from their families’ plates.

The average cost of the foods that the women buy first increased by R9,99 from R2 292,55 in November to R2 302,53 in December 2021, and increased by R120,27 from R2 182,26 in December 2020 to R2 302,53 in December 2021.

The cost of a basic nutritional food basket for a family of seven also increased by R19,91 from R5 102,16 in November to R5 122,07 in December and increased by R266,77 from R4 855,30 in December 2020 to R5 122,07 in December 2021.

The group also found that the difference in cost between the foods low-income families try to buy each month and the foods they would like to and should buy to meet basic nutrition needs was R846,13. It means that in December 2021, families with seven members underspent on basic nutritional food by a minimum of R846,13.

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Feeding children becomes a nightmare

In addition, the average cost to feed a child a basic nutritious diet increased by R2,99 from R744,96 in November to R747,95 in December and increased by R39,43 from R708,51 in December 2020 to R747,95 in December 2021.

The group says as children grow older, their nutritional requirements increase and this means that the cost of feeding a child increases as they grow older, while it is also different for teenage girls and boys. However, the Child Support Grant of R460 per month is a fixed amount that does not account for age.

The Child Support Grant is set below the food poverty line of R624 and even further below the average cost of R747,95 to secure a basic nutritious diet for a child in December 2021.

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Even those with jobs battle to buy enough food

Even if people have work, they still battle.

According to the group, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is a poverty wage that hurts workers and slows down economic growth. When the NMW of R3643,92 in December 2021 is disbursed in a black family of 4,5 people, each one gets R809,76, well below the upper-bound poverty line of R1 335 per person per month.

The data from the survey also shows differences between regions:

• The cost of the Johannesburg basket decreased by R30,85 from R4 333,12 in November to R4 302,27 in December and increased by R233,11 (5,7%) from R4 069,16 in December 2020 to R4 302,27 in December 2021.
• The cost of the Durban basket increased by R14,52 from R4 305,23 in November to R4 319,75 in December 2021 and also increased by R273,58 from R4 046,17 in December 2020 to R4 319,75 in December 2021.
• The cost of the Cape Town basket increased by R21,44 from R4 197,74 in November to R4 219,18 in December 2021 and increased by R312,93 from R3 906,24 in December 2020 to R4 219,18 in December 2021.
• The cost of the Springbok basket increased by R58,82 from R4 534,86 in November to R4 593,68 in December 2021 and increased by R231,57 from R4 362,12 in December 2020 to R4 593,68 in December 2021.
• The cost of the Pietermaritzburg basket decreased by R1,84 from R4 086,45 in November to R4 084,61 in December 2021 and increased by R424,36 from R3 660,25 in December 2020 to R4 084,61 in December 2021.

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Paying VAT takes a 30kg bag of maize meal from the basket

The group is also concerned that 22 of the 44 foods in the basket are subject to VAT, and make up 49% of the total cost. VAT came to R274,39 in December 2021, more than the cost of a large household’s requirement of 30kg maize meal per month that cost R244,71 in December.

VAT on basic foods therefore removes food off these families’ plates.