'Prices are ridiculous!'- Average cost of household food basket is R5330
'Most people in the country are not even able to afford that basic basket,' says journalist Naledi Sikhakhane.
Picture: Eyewitness News
Gugs Mhlungu spoke to Daily Maverick journalist, Naledi Sikhakhane.
Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below.
Food inflation continues to hit South Africans hard.
According to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group's May 2024 Household Affordability Index, which tracks the prices of 44 basic foods from 47 supermarkets, the average cost of the Household Food Basket is R5 330,30.
This amount excludes toiletries, transport costs to and from supermarkets, and electricity to cook the food.
"Most people in the country are not even able to afford that basic basket."
- Naledi Sikhakhane, Daily Maverick journalist
"You see the pattern of people having to sacrifice vegetables, some proteins and dairy in order to have a bit more starch."
- Naledi Sikhakhane, Daily Maverick journalist
Sikhakhane recently penned an article in the Daily Maverick titled 'SRD grant recipients are losing the battle to afford basic foods, let alone nutritious food' that looked at how food inflation affects grant recipients.
"We have been doing a simulation of how much a person who only receives the Social Relief of Distress Grant would be able to afford and we've been doing this since 2022 and this was June's installment."
- Naledi Sikhakhane, Daily Maverick journalist
"The basic food basket is just unaffordable, it's usually way above the R370 to get just 14 food items which basically means that a person would have to even be making a choice between those 14 food items, like what do I have to leave behind."
- Naledi Sikhakhane, Daily Maverick journalist
The 14 food items looked at were:
- Brown bread
- Salt
- White sugar
- Cooking oil
- Cabbage
- Yeast
- Flour
- Mielie-meal
- Rice
- Sugar beans
- Curry powder
- Tea
- Beef stock
- Soup
"One of the unfortunate parts of this is that research has shown that people will keep on sacrificing the more nutritious stuff and maybe even go for the starch - anything that can sit in the tummy and keep you full. You can only imagine the implications of those choices that people end up having to make."
- Naledi Sikhakhane, Daily Maverick journalist
Sikhakhane noted in her article that although food inflation has eased since November 2023, staying between 5% and 6%, costs are rising in other areas such as transport, electricity prices, and rents.
These rising costs are causing supermarkets to adjust the prices of their goods to account for the increased operational expenses.
"If you feel like you're losing your mind when you're in the grocery store, there are many factors at play...the prices are ridiculous."
- Naledi Sikhakhane, Daily Maverick journalist
Scroll up to listen to the full interview.