'It’s hard to put food on the table’ - the shocking rising costs of bread, milk

The “Big Four” – fuel and transport; electricity; food; and interest rates – have continued to have an impact on the pockets of consumers.

And none more so than the rising cost of food.

Data from Household Affordability Index by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD) shows that core foods - such as bread and milk - contribute 55% of the total cost of the Household Food Basket, and these foods must be purchased regardless of price increases.

With inflation, interest rates and fuel prices on the rise it is expected that food prices will also increase and this will have a major impact on the wallets of South African consumers.

We have already seen some of these core foods go up by a few rands within a year - hitting everyone, and the poorest of the poor the most.

There have been many stories of consumers not having money to purchase meat products or choosing to go with cheaper brands so they can save money.

Below we track just how much the cost has risen of household basics such as white bread, brown bread and full cream milk. For instance, the cost of a loaf of white bread went from about R13.10 in October 2020 to end at about R16.18 last month.

Cost of white bread, brown bread and full cream milk (Oct 2020 – Sept 2021)
Date	Average cost of white bread per loaf	Average cost of brown bread per loaf	Average cost of 1 litre full cream milk
October 2020	R13.10	R11.90	R12.30
November 2020	R13.35	R12.17	R12.64
December 2020	R13.54	R12.47	R12.30
January 2021	R13.35	12.27	R12,25
February 2021	R13.51	R12.16	R12.36
March 2021	R13.34	R12.15	R12.27
April 2021	R13.27	R12.12	R12.85
May 2021	R13.22	R12.01	R12.99
June 2021	R13.31	R11.99	R13.46
July 2021	R13.53	R12.09	R13.21
August 2021	R13.49	R12.23	R13.28
September 2021	R13.44	R12.21	R12.96

Cost of white bread, brown bread and full cream milk (Oct 2021 – Oct 2022)
Date	Average cost of white bread per loaf	Average cost of brown bread per loaf	Average cost of 1 litre full cream milk
October 2021	R13.55	R12.28	R13.50
November 2021	R13.66	R12.47	R13.03
December 2021	R13.85	R12.59	R13.13
January 2022	R13.92	R12.64	R13.14
February 2022	R13.80	R12.53	R13.19
March 2022	R14,21	R12,93	R13.22
April 2022	R14.31	R13.17	R13.45
May 2022	R14.54	R13.23	R13.
June 2022	R15.14	R13.83	R13.83
July 2022	R15.20	R13.84	R13.99
August 2022	R15.46	R14.39	R13.98
September 2022	R16.36	R14.76	R12.96
October 2022	R16.18	R14.78	R14.35

Mervyn Abrahams Programme Coordinator for PMBEJD said that households are under immense pressure financially due to rising costs.

According to Abrahams, food is not high on the list in households instead it follows transport, debt servicing and electricity.

“With rising costs for transport, electricity and food there is less food in the shopping trolley,” Abrahams said.

Consumers can stop their monthly food costs from biting into their income with these three tips:

– In your monthly budget, set aside money that will be used to purchase groceries. Don’t be tempted to spend extra money.

– Stretch your cash by making use of loyalty programmes that offer discounts or special offers for certain items.

– Get your groceries delivered to your door with online shopping to prevent yourself from being tempted by the impulse buys at the checkout point.

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