Maverick Citizen has for several months been tracking food price hikes in a Johannesburg inner-city supermarket. In our last report on prices in August 2022, we were able to record that the prices of cooking oil and maize meal decreased. A few other products were also cheaper.

Prices for staples were up by as much as 70% in some instances, so the decrease will bring relief, especially to Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant recipients. Our record show that the cost of 750 millilitres of cooking oil was down by R12, and two kilograms of maize meal was down by R15. Every cent counts, considering recipients on average travel 15 minutes to an hour from their homes to receive their grant, leaving them with even less to spend. The prices in our basket this month are compared to June prices.

Supplies of canola and sunflower oil from Ukraine have stabilised after Russia’s war in in the eastern European nation substantially increased prices. Prices are not expected to climb as high as in the first few months of the war which broke out ahead of Ukraine’s crucial March/April oilseed planting season. This posed a risk to 2023 harvests, according to the South African oil producer Southern Oil (Soill) company. 

At one point, the price of sunflower and canola oil spiked 55% and 40% over two months, and a two-litre bottle of sunflower oil cost R120.

The staple diet in South Africa includes a lot of starch and minimal vegetables and fruit. Our list only contained the staples of cabbage and beans.

In the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity project (PMBEJD) October 2022 Household Affordability Index report, it noted a decrease in the price of an average food basket: 

“Month-on-month: The cost of the average household food basket decreased by R18.03 (-0,4%) from R4,805.86 in September 2022 to R4,787.83 in October 2022. Year-on-year, the cost of the average household food basket increased by R470.28 (10,9%) from R4,317.56 in October 2021 to R4,787.83 in October 2022,” the index read.

In a statement, the PMBEJD pointed out that people’s state of health is challenged by barely being able to afford food. People eat what they can afford rather than what is beneficial for their well-being.

“The cost of the household food basket is very high and families can’t afford it. We remain in an emergency food crisis, and this crisis is set to deepen. Our problem is not only that we are going hungry but what is on our plate when there is food. The higher cost of foods has emptied the trollies of any nutritional diversity. Women tell us that ‘whatever we have got; we eat, it doesn’t matter anymore as long as we can eat it’,” the statement read.

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“White starches, and sugar, and salt and oil fill our plates — but in time, our children’s bellies cry out for good quality meat protein, sugar beans, and dairy and eggs, calcium, vegetables and fruits, and vitamins, minerals, and fibre. We will pay a very high price for not making proper nutritious food for our children a key political priority,” the statement continued.

The initial basket compared June prices as the baseline, this looks at increases and decreases from August to November as most prices climbed up in April and stayed around the same after May 2022.

The price index also shows that the Child Support Grant (R480) is 28% below the food poverty line (R663) and 42% below the average cost to secure a basic nutritious diet for a child (R825.31). The R350 grant is even less and civil society has subsequently been debating what an increased universal income would look like.

Evidence shows the social and economic benefits of a tangible universal basic income 

According to the South African competition commission in its Essential Food Price Monitoring Report, April 2022 marked the beginning of a series of steep increases in the price of cooking oil. “From March to June 2022, the cooking prices increased by R12.72, going from R31.24 to R43.96. This represents a 41% price increase,” the report reads.

The competition commission states that Ukraine and Russia jointly supply 30% and 20% of the world’s wheat and maize respectively. Furthermore, the two countries also supply more than 75% of sunflower oil to international markets. However, the ongoing conflict appears to have exacerbated an existing trend. Following the onset of the conflict, shipments out of Ukraine ground to a halt while it is increasingly more expensive for vessels to enter the Black Sea, affecting grain exports from the region beyond Ukraine.

Sharp cost of living

Swazi Dlamini, 26, from Mpumalanga says transport and bank charges consume the bulk of her SRD grant. After the reapplication, people were encouraged to switch to banks instead of receiving the grant from the post office to ensure a secure transaction and receipt. “The bank charged me and I was left with R310. Our nearest Capitec branch is 35km away so I took three taxis to get there. I spent R76 to get there and R76 to come back as well,” said Dlamini

“The only thing that helps is if I ask someone going to town to withdraw the money and buy basic goods for me. It’s hard being unemployed and feeling like a burden so I’m glad I can add isishebo (protein) at home when I get the money,” said Dlamini. DM/MC