Soaring food prices leaving people behind
There was a time when most households would fill a supermarket trolley to the brim with groceries for a mere R500, but today many lament that it now costs them three or even four times that amount to fill the same grocery trolley.
With a struggling economy and unemployment figures rising steadily, more people are out of work and the cost of living is skyrocketing through the rafters. Life for many families has become uncertain as many find it hard each day to make ends meet and keep their heads above water.
In many households, families have resorted to eating two meals a day and in some worst-case scenarios many go to bed having eaten just a single meal a day. And because of the high prices, the foodstuff most families can afford is nowhere close to the nutritious quality of food most were used to a few years ago.
To give a clear and rather depressing picture of the current situation, a non-profit organisation calling itself the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) recently released its latest outlook, focusing on agricultural production, consumption, prices and trade in South Africa.
According to the BFAP, the baseline takes into account the latest trends, policies and market information, and is constructed in such a way that the decision-maker can form a picture of equilibrium in agricultural markets, given the assumptions made.
The BFAP noted that markets are extremely volatile and the probability that future prices will not match baseline projections is therefore high. Given this uncertainty, the baseline projections should be interpreted as one possible scenario that could unfold, where temporary factors (for example, weather) play out over the short term and permanent factors (such as biofuel policies) cause structural shifts in agricultural commodity markets in the long run.
According to the report, in April 2018 the cost of the BFAP thrifty basket amounted to R751 for an adult man and R2 738 for a family of four per month. Applying the BFAP retail price and inflation forecasts, the average cost of the BFAP thrifty basket for 2018 is estimated at R2 786 for a family of four (0.8 per cent higher than the average basket cost of January to April 2018 and 2.7 per cent higher than the average basket cost in 2017).
The projected cost of the BFAP thrifty balanced food basket in 2019, for a family of four, is R2 928 per month (5.1 per cent higher than the projected 2018 value). To be able to afford the thrifty basket in April 2018, a four-member household requires a monthly income of about R7 823, if 35 per cent of total expenditure is allocated to food.
The BFAP report further states that effectively this means that 54 per cent of the South African population aged 15 years and older can’t afford the BFAP thrifty balanced food basket unless they drastically reduce spending on non-food items.
Meanwhile, as the job market shrinks and scores of workers are laid off, many households in the township are becoming dependent on pensioners for survival. It is often these pensioners with their meager pension who have to make sure their families are fed and clothed and that the children are sent to school.
With the cost of living going up every day, many families have been forced to forsake all luxuries in their diet and lifestyles. As a result, there are fewer shoppers at the local shopping malls, and of those who can still afford to purchase their groceries there, many walk out with even fewer food items in their shopping bags.
Following a wave of severe drought-induced food inflation, South African consumers found some relief on the back of a rebound in crop production, with food inflation losing pace since the beginning of 2017, the BFAP said.
“Red meat specifically, although showing initial signs of recovery, is still experiencing the effects of the 2015/16 drought, further supported by relatively weak exchange rate levels, which in turn maintained attractive export opportunities. In the first quarter of 2018, average meat prices were still exhibiting double-digit inflation.”
And with the price of fuel going up almost every month and the increase in VAT in April, the future does indeed look rather gloomy for consumers in the country.
+++++++++++++++++
The kidnapping of young girls is a worrying resurgence of an old criminal phenomenon.
They were known as “Jack-rollers” and they became the scourge of the townships during the late ’70s and ’80s by targeting young girls and kidnapping them for sex. These were young men between the ages of 18 and 30 who made life hell for young women and schoolgirls in the townships.
This evil phenomenon seems to be back on our streets as young criminals drive around the streets of the townships looking for young women and girls to kidnap.
Children and people with albinism seem to be an added thrill for criminals and human traffickers, and the police have warned vulnerable people and potential victims to stay alert at all times.
Be vigilant and keep your eyes and ears open at all times.
