With the most recent consumer inflation rising to 3.2% at the beginning of 2025, South Africans are eager to hear what the Minister of Finance will cover in his March budget speech.
Mervyn Abrahams, Programme Coordinator from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group, said the latest report from the Household Affordability Index revealed that the average cost of the Household Food Basket is R5 313.22.
“Food prices dropped across the egg and dairy categories, vegetables, meats, the canned foods of fish and beans, Cremora, sandwich fillers of peanut butter, jam, and polony, and both white and brown bread. This follows similar trends to the price drops in the basket in February 2024. This time last year, February 2024 prices also dropped down off the January 2024 prices, and similarly to this year, all food baskets in all areas tracked decreased in price,” he added.
Abrahams further stressed that although so many foods dropped in price for February, the core staple foods of maize meal, rice, cake flour, white sugar, samp, and cooking oil maintained their prices, with very little movement either up or down (with changes in percentages either 0% or 1%).
“It is these core staple foods that carry the highest Rand cost in the food basket and which women tell us are purchased first because these foods secure households against hunger. For affordability to be eased, the core staple foods within the household food basket would need to come down by much higher amounts,” he added.
Image: Pixabay
