Cost of average food basket drops by R23
South Africans paid slightly less for their average food basket last month, according to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group.
It released the Household Affordability Index for June.
The group tracks the prices of 44 basic foods from almost 50 supermarkets and butcheries across Durban, Mtubatuba and Pietermaritzburg.
They also look at shops in the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng.
It says the food basket decreased by R23,46 from May to June. It now sits at R5,443,12.
It has increased, however, by just over R190 in the last 12 months.
Out of the six cities used for the data, Durban and Pietermaritzburg topped the list for the most significant month-on-month decrease in their baskets.
Both increased annually by over R100.
Food prices also showed to be lower in these cities compared to anywhere else in the country.
Now, even with these statistics, there's growing concern over the rising cost of food, and even more fear that the latest increases in the country's fuel prices, will skyrocket prices.
Economist, Azar Jammine says we are still in a better position than we were a year or two ago.
" What happens to fuel gets passed on in the form of food prices, and our food inflation rate is down at 4.5%. It would've been a lot higher had it not been for the fact that fuel prices have come down so sharply.
"This increase in fuel prices that we had could see itself passed on to consumers in the form of higher food prices. It's important to get the perspective of the changes into account. The price of petrol a year ago is R25/R26 per litre. It's now R22 per litre."
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