October’s petrol price increase, has yet to impact on the food basket as there were only two increments and there was even one price reduction this month.
It would seem that with the summer holiday season fast approaching, retailers have opted to hold prices steady, apart from the three items in our basket which all form part of most household’s daily needs.
Milk showed a decline of R1 – from R11.99 back to R10.99, as in September – while we’ve seen a 50c increase in bread from R7.49 in October to R7.99 this week, and butternut is now at R12.99.
A 1kg bag of potatoes is R12.99, from R9.99 in September, while cooking oil stays at R17.49, and eggs at R28 a dozen. Mealie meal stays at R8.99, as does chicken at R34.99 after its huge drop of R5 per kg in September.
Fruit and vegetable hawker Phumla Mgudlwa, at Highway taxi rank, said while prices fluctuated, overall they had remained at a fairly stable level, despite the fuel increase.
“What I’ve noticed is that if this month a vegetable price is up, fruit is usually a little lower. Where you would spend, for example, R11.50 on butternut and R12 on grapes, the fluctuation could result in butternut being at R11 and the grapes at R12.50, but of course it does also depend on the season,” she said.
Wimpy manager at Beacon Bay Retail Park, Heidi Lowbser, said they had not felt any price increments, although the outlet dealt with suppliers and not stores directly.
“We can’t always fluctuate our prices with the petrol price, we have to retain stability and consistency in our pricing,” she said...