The average cost of a household food basket will cost consumers in South Africa R5 124,34 in the month of August.
This comes as the August 2023 Household Affordability Index, compiled by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD), was released on Wednesday.
The August 2023 Household Affordability Index tracks food price data from 47 supermarkets and 32 butcheries, in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg, Mtubatuba, and Springbok, shows that:
- Month-on-month: The average cost of the Household Food Basket increased by R42,40, from R5 081,94 in July 2023 to R5 124,34 in August 2023.
- Year-on-year: The average cost of the Household Food Basket increased by R348,75 (7,3%), from R4 775,59 in August 2022 to R5 124,34 in August 2023.
Cost of the core staple foods remain a concern.
According to the PMBEJD, the foods which make up the core staples, and which are prioritised first in the trolley and the purse, remain stubbornly high.
In August 2023, these foods cost R2 826,37.
Over the past year, these core staple foods have gone up by R201,44 or 7,7%.
What are these foods and why is it so important that their cost comes down?
According to the research, the core foods are bought first and these foods ensure that families do not go hungry whilst ensuring that meals can be prepared.
Shoppers have identified 17 such foods: maize meal, rice, cake flour, white sugar, sugar beans, samp, cooking oil, salt, potatoes, onions, frozen chicken portions, curry powder, stock cubes, soup, tea, and bread (brown and white).
The PMBEJD study shows that only after the core staples have been secured do people allocate remaining money to the other critically important nutritionally rich foods.
These items include: meat, eggs and dairy which are critical for protein, iron, and calcium; vegetables and fruit which are critical for vitamins, minerals, and fibre; and Maas, peanut butter and pilchards, good fats, protein, and calcium essential for children.
The high cost of core staple foods results in a lot of proper nutritious food never reaching the family plate.
The following foods increased in price in August 2023.
Foods which increased in price in August 2023, by 5% or more, include: rice (5%), butternut (9%), apples (8%), and oranges (8%).
Foods which increased in price in August 2023, by 2% or more, include: white sugar (4%), samp (3%), potatoes (2%), frozen chicken portions (3%), stock cubes (2%), tea (3%), wors (3%), spinach (2%), Cremora (3%), bananas (4%), peanut butter (3%), and white bread (4%).
Volatility in rice prices.
The PMBEJD research also noted that whilst South Africa imports most of its rice from Thailand (76,5%), with Indian imports making up a much lower 19,1%, the India rice ban is starting to impact on rice prices on South African shelves.
In almost half of the supermarkets tracked, rice prices increased – some marginally, but some surged.
The India rice ban will likely lead to global rice prices increasing, argues the PMBEJD.
The study notes that rice is a core staple food in most South African homes. It should be noted that maize meal is the most important starch, rice is the second, according to the PMBEJD. Shoppers alternate maize meal and rice, and to a lesser degree samp and ujeqe (steamed bread).
This rotation of maize meal and rice is important because it provides some variance in the meal, even if everything else on the plate is the same.
Rice is therefore relatively inelastic (demand remains constant)– like maize meal, when prices increase, rice is still bought. “If the price of rice goes up, even if it goes up a lot, we will still buy it, we are used to it, and we need it.”
The price of rice is therefore important, it being a core staple food for most South African households. And an energy food, which staves off hunger. And that it provides some starch variance in the diet.
Further, it being a food which is part of the foods which women prioritise and spend money on first, its cost needs to remain low, to ensure that other foods, also important for nutrition and health, can also be bought.
Rice prices in supermarkets will need to be carefully monitored, including ensuring that the India rice ban is not used to raise prices higher than what is reasonable or fair.
BUSINESS REPORT