Prices of rice, sugar beans, eggs, and curry powder soar

SOARING food prices, coupled with the recent fuel and electricity tariff hikes, will exacerbate the struggle of South Africans to put quality and nutritious food on their tables.

Last week, the fuel prices increased, while Eskom’s 12.74% electricity price hike for the 2024/25 financial year came into effect on April 1.

The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity (PMBEJD) group’s household affordability index for March 2024, revealed that an average household food basket costs R5 277.93. This was an increase by R311.72 (6.3%) from R4 966.20 in March 2023.

The food basket is made up of basic foods varying from carbohydrates to proteins, which are vitamin-enriched and add nutritional value to one’s diet.

The cost of the Durban household food basket increased by R372.71 (7.7%) from R4 871.40 in March 2023 to R5 244.11.

In Pietermaritzburg, the average food basket costs R5 122.13, an increase of R229.78 (4.7%) from R4 892.35 in March 2023.

However, in March this year, some basic food items which included rice, sugar beans, eggs and curry powder, among others, which are staples in many households, saw exorbitant increases.

Sibusiso Mboto, the PMBEJD’s advocacy co-ordinator, said data showed 28 foods had substantially increased in March.

“The food inflation rate is about 6%, which is above the consumer price index (CPI) level of just over 5%, which has resulted in consumers struggling, especially those in the low income bracket.

“Furthermore, because of the increase in petrol over the past few months and because transport is such an integral part of our existence, including the movement of goods which includes food, even the decreases in the basket seem cosmetic,” he said.

Mboto said some of the price hikes such as that of rice, and previously wheat, was due to South Africa importing such commodities.

“Due to South Africa operating on a global scale, we are impacted. We know that South Africa imports grain such as rice and wheat. We had felt the impact of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and now India, which imposed a ban on rice exports due to production and food security in that country.

“In addition, the absence of local capacity and reliance on imports means we are vulnerable. As the demand rises, so does the price,” he said.

Mboto said the food price hikes, together with other expenses, led to the quality of food being compromised.

“In a number of instances, workers have confirmed that they spend more than a third of their monthly income on transport, which then means that the remainder of the income has to meet all the household demands that include bond payments, water and electricity bills, and children’s transport in some instances. So, in essence, getting a nutritious food basket is quite a challenge.

“The downside of that is when the body does not get other nutrients such as proteins and vitamins, especially a young body, growth is stunted, and the effects become evident years down the line.

“The challenge is that nutritionally inadequate food affects families, communities and a society at large. It presents a challenge to the public healthcare system as well as the development prospects in the country,” he said.

Mboto said they were calling on the government to provide a social safety net that was realistic.

For instance, the child support grant of R510 is 33% below the food poverty line of R760, and 46% below the average cost to feed a child a basic nutritious diet, which amounts to R941.89.

“We need to stop looking at food prices and their impact as something abstract, but more as an issue that affects us all because once we do that there will be collective ownership and response to the challenge both from the side of communities and government,” he said.

‘Catastrophe’

Alan Browde, the founder and chief executive officer of SA Harvest, a food-rescue organisation, said the food vulnerability situation among children was a “catastrophe”.

“According to studies, 27% of children under the age of 5 are stunted or suffer from wasting, due to not eating enough nutritious meals.

“This not only compromises the well-being of the children, but is also a threat to the country. These children are the future of the country and if they are unable to concentrate on their studies, due to hunger, what will happen?

“It is also a miscarriage of justice, as Section 28 of the Constitution states that every child has the right to enough nutrition, and we are not delivering on this,” he said.

Browde said the increased costs of food could be attributed to the various “chains” it was passed through before reaching homes.

“In the old days, people could buy directly from small-scale farmers or small stores in their community.

“Today, most goods are only available through the big retailers and people are paying retail prices due to chains it has been passed through, such as from the farmer, to the transporter, and then retailer, before reaching consumers.

“These increases are hurtful on households and people can’t buy the nutritional food,” he said.

Browde said to tackle hunger, there was a need for legal intervention regarding food waste.

“The amount of nutritious food wasted in our food chain – from farms to retailers – is staggering.

“We waste 10 million tons annually, equivalent to 30 billion meals. With 20 million people on a spectrum of severe food vulnerability, the need in a year is around 20 billion meals.

“The amount we waste is enough to end hunger in South Africa. Legislation is essential to curb waste and ensure rescued food reaches those in need,” he said.

Inflation

Dr Farai Nyika, an academic at Mancosa’s Department of Economics, said food inflation had always been an issue that the public has had to deal with.

“However, food inflation has been particularly significant in South Africa since the beginning of 2021 which has been driven by factors such as geopolitical conflicts, the Covid-19 pandemic and associated crises such as the supply chain crisis and load shedding.

“Another significant event was the recent strain of bird flu, which decimated chicken farmers across the country, significantly increasing the price of eggs. This, in turn, impacted the price of staple food items such as bread.

“An ongoing challenge has been load shedding. If left unchecked, it impacts the cold chain of grocery retailers, which means that food’s expiry dates have a shorter lifespan.

“In response, retailers have invested significantly in improving their cold chain. This is an expensive exercise and these costs have been rolled over on to consumers,” he said.

Nyika said unchecked increases in food prices would result in increased food insecurity and malnutrition.

“This will, in turn, lead to increased health-care costs and reduce discretionary spending, causing the public to turn towards the government for a solution to resolve this,” he said.

Nyika said that in the absence of large, long term, foreign investment inflows, South Africa was destined to remain stuck in this economic downward spiral.

“Unless the government transforms both its image and policies in favour of pro-growth measures,” he said.

Cutting back

Sanisha Packirisamy, an economist, said: “We are experiencing an element of downtrading in the economy, with cash-strapped consumers substituting more expensive items with cheaper products.

“Consumers have also been cutting back on unnecessary expenditures, such as subscriptions and memberships.

“With cost savings becoming increasingly important for consumers, shopping habits have also shifted, with consumers becoming less brand loyal and considering private labelled products and trying to make use of coupons, vouchers and less frequent bulk purchases to prevent unnecessary expenditures associated with more regular shopping trips,” she said.

Packirisamy said higher inflationary pressures ultimately eroded the purchasing power of consumers, and crowded out the lower-income earners, raising poverty and inequality measures.

“In the context of inflation targeting, the central bank would react to higher inflationary pressures by raising interest rates by more to contain price pressures. This raises the cost of debt for consumers, businesses and government.”

Ultimately, Packirisamy said, there was a need for increased efficiency of government spending.

“There is also a need for structural reforms in labour and product markets to reduce the inflationary impact on the economy, as well as in the network industries to raise South Africa’s growth prospects and ultimately lower pressure on administered prices,” she said.