Nokukhanya Mntambo25 July 2024 | 6:12

Annual prices for bread, cereals see first increase in over a year, says Stats SA

Stats SA released the latest inflation reading on Wednesday, which showed a mixed bag of price changes in a basket of goods.

Annual prices for bread, cereals see first increase in over a year, says Stats SA

A bowl of Kellogg's Corn Flakes. Photo: Unsplash/Deepak N

JOHANNESBURG - Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) says the annual prices for bread and cereals have seen their first increase in over a year, jumping to 5.2% in June from 3.9% in May.

On Wednesday, Stats SA released the latest inflation reading showing a mixed bag of price changes in a basket of goods.

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Although overall annual food prices eased marginally over this period, chief director for price statistics at Stats SA Patrick Kelly said some staples still cost an arm and a leg.

“For some context, the producer price index (PPI) for manufactured maize products recorded a 7.2% monthly increase in May. Maize in the agriculture PPI increased by an annual 23.8%.

“PPIs are often leading indicators of the CPI [consumer price index], so the data suggest that elevated inflation for maize-based products is widespread.”