It’s safe to say that we’ve all noticed our grocery totals have been on the up and up over the past few years, and it doesn’t seem to be getting better. But just how much more expensive have some of the most popular food retail items become?
Stats SA recently released a report that answers this exact question, and some of the findings may leave you stunned. The stats agency put together a list of 191 common grocery items with information on how much the average price was each month from 2017 until 2020. Some items have actually decreased in price since 2017, like macaroni and maize meal, while a majority of the items have increased.
The most significant increases are seen in the meat prices. In January 2017, a kilogram of chicken portions cost an average of R56,04 and today, you would need to part with R64,25 — a 14,7% increase in three years.
A kilogram of beef rump steak has increased by 15% in the last three years. While it would’ve cost you an average of R117,18 in January 2017, today you would have to part with an average of R134,76. The price increase for biltong is also not too far off having increased by 13,0% from 2017 to 2020. The average cost of a kilogram of biltong was at R249,08 in 2017, and today is sitting steadily at an average cost of R281,57.
Can You Freeze An Avocado To Keep It Ripe?
One of the most significant increments seen in the last three years is the almost unbelievable increase in the price of… wait for it… avocados! While one avocado would have cost you an average of R13,08 in January 2017, today — one avocado will cost you an average of R18,04. This is a 37,9% increase in just three years.
In an interview on , SA Avocado Growers’ Association CEO Derek Donkin said that the dramatic avocado price increase is due to many factors, but one of the key one’s being the increase in demand for avos from consumers.
“The demand for avocados has grown quite substantially over the last few years,” he said. “People are realising that it’s a healthy fruit, it’s versatile, and it’s delicious and guilt-free to eat. Also, [the production of avocados] goes through what we call on and off years where one year the crop is larger and another year it’s smaller. All of this, and other factors, compounded together contribute to the higher price.”
More common grocery items such as rice, white bread, spaghetti, milk, full-cream milk, eggs and baking powder (among other items) experienced more steady, -making increases. Let’s take a look at some of these below:
1kg Rice
Average price in Jan 2017: R18,65
Average price in Jan 2020: R19,70
A loaf of brown bread
Average price in 2017: R13,41
Average price in 2020: R13,51
Spaghetti
Average price in 2017: R13,15
Average price in 2020: R13,27
2l of full-cream milk – fresh
Average price in 2017: R26,06
Average price in 2020: R27,87
6 eggs
Average price in 2017: R14,73
Average price in 2020: R16,01
200g of baking powder
Average price in 2017: R28,71
Average price in 2020: R29,45
A pack of sanitary pads
Average price in 2017: R21,05
Average price in 2020: R21,83
You can see all the prices for 191 items for yourself .
Source: https://www.womenshealthsa.co.za/food-and-nutrition/feed/
