Consumers are paying more for essential foods than ever before. The Consumer Price Index for March released by Statistics SA on Wednesday, pointed to vegetable prices reaching new heights, while the cost of bread and cereals also saw a rapid rise.
According to the latest consumer price index report for March 2023 food and non-alcoholic drinks have been 14% more expensive than it was for the same period in 2022.
Annual consumer price inflation was 7.1% in March 2023, up from 7.0% in February 2023. The consumer price index increased by 1% month-on-month in March 2023.
The main causes of the 7.1% annual inflation rate were transportation, housing and utilities, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and miscellaneous products and services.
Food prices are on the up
The consumer prices indices for all urban areas saw an increase, however, vegetable prices showed the biggest increase.
Between February 2022 and March 2022, vegetables had a 3.8% increase in the price change. Between February 2023 and March 2023, vegetables saw a massive price hike of 20.5%.
Bread and cereal saw the second biggest hike with an increase of 20.3%, a 19.4% difference from February and March 2022. Meat prices have also increased by 10.7%, while processed foods increased by 16.2%
Food and non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages and tobacco played the biggest role in contributing to the annual change in the CPI headline. On 1 February 2023, food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 2.3%; in March, they contributed 2.4%. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco contributed 0.4% in February and March.
Other increases
Meanwhile, housing and utilities saw a 4% year-over-year increase and made a 0% contribution.
The transport sector saw a 1.3 percentage-point increase and an increase of 8.9% year over year. Other products and services climbed by 5.9% year-on-year and made up 0.9% of the total.
Compared to February, the annual inflation rate for goods was down to 9.4% while the annual inflation rate for services was down to 4.5%.
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