Most of the prices of the Daily Dispatch food basket staples have either remained the same or increased by R1.50 or less over the last few months, but consumers will have to put a little extra away in March for some meats.
Compared to February, the cost of 1kg of chicken pieces has increased by a sizeable R20, with consumers having to fork out almost R60 to make a good roast.
Up from R37.99 in February to R57.99 in March, it is the highest price for chicken pieces recorded by the Dispatch in 2019.
Every month, the newspaper visits three supermarket chains around East London, taking note of the prices of essential foodstuffs.
The cheapest price of each trolley essential is then recorded and charted on the food basket graph.
The findings are published on the first Saturday of every month, allowing readers to monitor price fluctuations and know how much they will be expected to fork out on their next grocery shopping outing.
Out of the eight essentials monitored monthly, only three have remained unchanged, with a loaf of brown bread costing R7.49, as it has since January.
The prices of 1kg of butternut and 750ml of sunflower oil remain unchanged since the beginning of 2019 at R12.99 and R17.99, respectively.
The price of a dozen eggs has been on a slow but steady increase since January, going up by 99 cents in March.
Potatoes went up by R1 per kilogram and milk went up by R1.50 to R11.49 per litre.
Consumers can breathe a small sigh of relief as the price of maize meal has dropped by R1, after sitting at a steady R8.99 for the last four months.
The current prices compared to February are:
750ml sunflower oil remains the same as February at R17.99;
A dozen eggs – R25.98 up from R24.99;
1l milk – R11.49, up from R9.99;
Loaf of brown bread remains R7.49, as it has since January;
1kg mielie meal is R7.99, down from R8.99;
1kg potatoes is R13.99, up from 12.99;
1kg chicken pieces has increased by R20, bringing the price up to R57.99 from R37.99...