Consumers to pay more for bread
Economist, Wandile Sihlobo says that the price of bread will indeed increase, but he is disputing the figure that the staple will increase by.
There are reports that bread will go up by as much as 10%.
Sihlobo says a number of factors influence the price of bread but with a loaf of bread costing around R11, wheat constitutes 18% of that.
National Treasury announced last week that there would be a 34% increase in import duty on wheat but Sihlobo says this does not suggest that a 10% increase in the price of bread.
Sihlobo feels it will be less than that.
"Bread prices are likely to see some small percentage increases and all of those will be purely be linked with what is happening with the fuel cost of transporting the wheat from the silos to the bakeries, the bread to the retail stores and it will also be affected by the recent increase in electricity tariffs. Much of these increases will have less to do with the import tariff," he said.
East Coasters were not too happy about the proposed increase.
(File photo: Getty Images)