South African Families Battle As Basic Food Prices Keep Climbing

Core staple foods that families must buy have increased by R25.80 from R2,843.46 to R2,869.26 this year.

After transport and electricity costs, minimum wage families only have R493.72 per person for food monthly.

South African families are struggling even more to put food on the table as staple foods keep getting more expensive.

The latest Household Affordability Index shows the cost of basic foods has gone up by R153.48 in just one year. The average family now pays R5,380.62 for their monthly food basket compared to R5,227.14 in August last year.

The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group released the figures showing how much more families are paying for everyday essentials.

Core foods that families must buy no matter the price have gone up by R25.80. These basics now cost R2,869.26 compared to R2,843.46 last August.

The price increases are hitting families where it hurts most. A 30kg bag of maize meal now costs R333.16, up from R304.47 last year.

Samp has jumped from R64.57 to R73.83 for a 5kg bag. Cooking oil is now R157.84 for 5 litres, up from R147.61.

Families are paying R410.30 for 10kg of frozen chicken portions compared to R388.38 last August. Even tea has gone up from R30.63 to R31.97 for 250g.

Bread prices have also climbed, with 25 loaves of white bread now costing R411.83, up from R410.66. Brown bread has jumped from R381.14 to R388.26.

These core foods make up 53% of what families spend on groceries. As these prices rise, families are forced to cut back on healthier foods like vegetables, fruit and proteins.

"The high cost of staple foods results in a lot of proper nutritious food being removed from the family plates. This has a negative impact on health, wellbeing and child development," warned Mervyn Abrahams from the group, TimesLIVE reported.

The situation gets worse when you look at wages. The national minimum wage is R4,836.72 per month, but most of that money disappears quickly.

After paying for transport and electricity, which eat up nearly 60% of income, families only have R1,974.87 left for food and everything else.

For a family of four, that works out to just R493.72 per person per month. This is far below the food poverty line of R796 per person.

The group says this proves most working families simply cannot afford a nutritious diet for their children.

Read the original article on Scrolla.

South African Families Battle As Basic Food Prices Keep Climbing

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