- South Africa’s average household food basket rose to R5,488.06 in September, a bit more than last month and more than a year ago.
- A minimum wage worker’s family still can’t afford a properly nutritious diet, even after paying for transport and electricity.
If your grocery bill feels a bit bigger this month, you’re not imagining it. New data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group’s latest Household Affordability Index shows South Africa’s average food basket, the 44 everyday items households buy each month, went up again in September.
The average basket now costs R5,488.06. That’s a small rise from August, and about R109 more than the same month last year. Where you live matters too: shopping in Springbok cost the most this month, while Mtubatuba was the cheapest.
Here’s the part that actually explains your receipt: some things got cheaper, and some got a lot more expensive. Maize meal, rice and sugar beans all cost less than they did a year ago. But onions cost 66% more than last year, bananas are up 23%, and tomatoes are up 18%. So even when your bill for staples like pap and rice drops slightly, buying vegetables and fruit can wipe that saving out completely.
There’s a bigger problem sitting underneath all of this. The foods families buy first, like maize meal, rice, sugar and bread, now eat up more than half of the entire food budget. That leaves less money for the meat, vegetables and dairy a family actually needs to eat properly, not just to avoid going hungry.
And wages simply haven’t kept up. Someone working a full month on minimum wage takes home just over R5,000. After paying for a taxi to work and electricity, there’s less than R1,800 left, and that’s before buying a single item of food, paying rent, or covering anything else. A family of four needs close to R3,800 a month just to eat a properly nutritious diet. The gap between what’s left and what’s needed is enormous.
Children face the same squeeze. The government’s own measure of the bare minimum needed to avoid going hungry has just gone up to R868 a month. Feeding a child properly, not just enough to survive, now costs closer to R970 a month. The Child Support Grant pays R580, well below both numbers.
