Food Prices Latest: South Africans get poorer as wages slow to rise
Food prices are rising, winter is coming, and the cold is likely to exacerbate misery and anger in a large portion of our population
South Africans are getting poorer as job losses continue and food prices, electricity and transport costs spiral out of proportion to wage and grant increases.
This was the warning from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group which released its latest March 2021 Household Affordability Index recently. The group conducts food price survey across the country in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and Gauteng.
According to the latest data the Pietermaritzburg Household Affordability Index, annualised for March 2021, showed that inflation on the Pietermaritzburg Household Food Basket was 12,6%. The cost of this basket increased by R406,46 over the past year, with the total cost of the basket now R3 627,45.
Calls for the Reserve Bank to intervene on rising inflation on essential goods
By Silindile Nyathikazi
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Durban - CALLS are being made for the Reserve Bank to monitor more stringently inflationary increases on food, electricity and transport, and their impact on low-income households and the broader economy.
Part of the plea also included for the central bank to act decisively when such increases threaten the affordability levels of low-income households and damage the economy.
This comes as the cost of the Durban household food basket increased by R26,70 (0,7%) from R4 051,78 in February 2021 to R4 078,48 in March 2021, according to the latest Household Affordability Index released by The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD).