South Africa: Food Inflation At a 16-Year Low, but You Still Can't Afford to Eat

What the report says

South Africa’s food inflation eased to 0.9% in July, the lowest level since 2010, according to Stats SA, helping pull overall inflation down to 4.3% from 5.0% in June. The report said cheaper cereal products and meat were the main drivers of the national decline, including a monthly fall in maize meal prices and a sharp slowdown in annual meat inflation.

But the piece, published by Scrolla and distributed by AllAfrica, says that lower national inflation did not match the experience of low-income shoppers. The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD), which tracks a basket of 44 foods bought in supermarkets and butcheries used by working-class households, found that its household food basket rose in July by R28.11 to R5,530.52. In that basket, apples, maize meal, wors and tomatoes all became more expensive.

The article highlights the difference between national inflation data and prices faced in townships and lower-income areas such as Soweto, Khayelitsha and Umlazi. Its central point is that a headline improvement in inflation does not necessarily ease pressure on families already struggling to afford basic food. The report also notes that South Africa’s minimum wage still leaves a family of four below the Food Poverty Line, underscoring the gap between economic indicators and lived affordability.