Drought and a weak rand send food prices up, hitting the poorest South Africans
THE drought and rapid depreciation of the rand have led to a rise in food prices‚ hitting poorest South Africans hard.This is according to the latest annual baseline produced by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy‚ produced by researchers from the Universities of Pretoria and Stellenbosch‚ and the Western Cape department of agriculture.The cost of a basic food basket‚ including staples such as rice and brown bread‚ was R3‚503 in April‚ which is unaffordable to the poorest 40%-50% of the population‚ Alan Winde‚ Western Cape MEC of economic opportunities commented on the report.This was an increase of 23.8% between April 2015 and April 2016.It was estimated that food inflation would average 10.75% in the first three quarters of 2017‚ he said.Winde said the report revealed the extent to which the drought had affected the sector."In 2015‚ there was a 15% drop in production here (the Western Cape) and in Limpopo due to the drought. In terms of livestock‚ there has been a 15% redu...
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