Record rainfalls and widespread crop damage caused by severe drought in the Western Cape are threatening to drive up food prices, force farms to shut down, and could cost thousands of people their jobs, experts have warned.

The National Consumer Forum (NCF) said the situation did not bode well for cash-strapped consumers. Chairman Thami Bolani said a shortage of goods would almost certainly push up food prices.

He slammed the government for failing to provide more assistance to local farmers hit hard by the extreme weather conditions.

The National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) has also expressed fears of job losses at farms and said several operations would be forced to close down.

Professor Johann Kirsten, of the council, said there was a chance that the price of horticultural goods would rise if crops were low. This would include fruit like peaches and apricots.

"These are the harvest months now, and if there is a lower supply the prices could increase."

Agriculture MEC Gerrit van Rensburg has also repeated his appeal to the national government to better structure disaster relief measures for farmers.

He said farmers affected by the 2006 floods in the southern Cape were still waiting for financial aid from the government.

Agri-Wescape said farmers in the southern Cape were battling to sustain themselves in the drought-ravaged region. In other regions, heavy rains were posing big problems for grain farmers in Durbanville, Philadelphia and Caledon.

In Stellenbosch and Somerset West, strong winds destroyed newly planted vine shoots. One farm in the area suffered 60 percent damage.

In Paarl, rains have led to brown rot and watermarks on deciduous fruits.

Agri-Wescape communications manager Porchia Adams said the spoiled fruit could not be exported or even sold on the local market.

"There are very strict quality checks. If the fruit is damaged, they won't be able to sell it. It will have to be discarded or kept for other uses, like juice."

She said it was predicted that grain farmers would not be able to yield significant profits this season.

Adams said prolonged cool temperatures would cause the wheat to germinate, affecting the grade of the wheat.

Grain SA's chief executive officer Kobus Laubscher said the wet weather would "retard" the harvest process, and could cripple local wheat farmers.

"The farmer, as the price-taker, already has very low prices. They had an expectation of a good crop, but now the prices will drop even further. This will really affect profitability; this is not good news."

The damage to wheat crops meant South Africa would have to depend more heavily on imports, said Laubscher.

"Now consumers must hold thumbs that the rand remains strong, so the price won't increase."

At the other extreme is the Eden District in the southern Cape where rains have brought little or no relief to drought-stricken farmers.

The region is in the grip of its worst drought in more than 130 years, with dam levels below 50 percent. The national government has declared the region a disaster area.

Eden disaster management head Gerhard Otto said the region had about 12mm of rain at the weekend. But at least 120mm would be needed for immediate short-term relief.

"It hasn't helped at all. We need good rain for an extensive period of time," said Otto.

In George and the surrounding areas, some vegetable farmers have had to cancel contracts with retailers and frozen food companies because of reduced production.

Milk and livestock farmers in the region have also been forced to buy feed for their animals at a huge cost, and most will not make any profits this year.

Meanwhile, weather forecaster Lynette van Schalkwyk said the above-normal rainfall and lower temperatures would continue throughout summer.

For the first part of November, the province has, in some areas, had more than 15 times the rainfall than last year.

The Cape Town International Airport recorded 44mm of rain - the most recorded for that station during the month of November since 1957, according to the South African Weather Service.

The highest rainfall reported was in Grabouw with 64.8mm on Sunday.

"This boils down to colder and wetter weather than we are used to for this time of the year," said Van Schalkwyk.