Baking prices rise during lockdown
Price for salt and instant yeast increased faster than food and non-alcoholic beverages
Social media can attest to the fact the lockdown has many South Africans stuck in the kitchen, trying out new recipes and often brushing up on their baking.
Newly released figures from Statistics SA found that the prices of some essential baking ingredients have risen during lockdown.
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According to the inflation data, brown sugar went up in March and dropped by 3.6 per cent in June.
Instant yeast prices jumped by 4,9 per cent over a three month period (from March to June).
White and brown sugar together contribute 42 cents for every R100 of South African household spending.
White sugar is the most popular of the two, accounting for 32 cents.
Edible oils contribute 25 cents while instant yeast, bread flour and salt each contribute 3 cents.
Salt has become more expensive over the long term. Its price index has climbed by 34,7 per cent since January 2017. The average price for a 500 g packet of salt that month was R8,26. In June 2020, it was R13,59.
Instant yeast was a close second, rising by 34 per cent. A 10-gram sachet would have set you back R3,74 in January 2017 but has since increased to R5,24 in June 2020. Price indices for salt and instant yeast increased faster than the index recorded for food and non-alcoholic beverages.
On the other side of the coin, bread flour prices dropped by 5,9 per cent over the same period.
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