Increase on prices put a damper on festive season spending

By Tarryn Le Chat
30 November 2006

South Africans are faced with the highest increase in food prices in four years. Consumers will need to fork out more this festive season and beyond.

Data by Statistics South Africa revealed that food prices had risen by 8.5% by September - an incease through the year of more that 5% on last year over the same period.

South africans spend, on average, 23% of their disposable income on food, with poorer households spending up to 50% of their money on food.

Professor Andre Roux, director of the Institute for Futures Research based at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, said food price inflation at both the consumer and production levels up until earlier this year.

Christelle Swanepoel, an economist at Bereau for Economic Research (BER), said high grain prices and heavy fuel prices increase earlier this year were contributing to the price hikes.