The report is based on food price data in Pietermaritzburg (with comparisons between pre-lockdown March 2020 and May 2020) and conversations with women in queues and in supermarkets.
An average increase of 7% on the Household Food Index from March 2019 up to the end of March 2020 is significant. It is unclear at this stage whether this will come down in the coming weeks.
That ‘’Janu-worry’’ has entered the national lexicon is an indication that the household affordability crisis is no longer solely a working-class issue. More households are struggling to make ends meet and this struggle is getting harder.
The January 2020 Household Affordability Index shows dramatic spikes in food prices.
December has seen dramatic spikes in food prices with prices increasing for most of the meats and vegetables in the household food basket.
It is expected that prices rise annually in December. These increases however are harder to absorb during this time because of the shorter working days and hours in this period. Workers have less money in their pockets whilst simultaneously having to pay higher prices for goods.
Food prices continue to rise. The trajectory is an upward trend. October 2019 sees a third consecutive month of increases in the cost of the household food basket which may continue to rise into the new year.
