Countries around the globe are feeling the knock-on effects of Russia’s war on the Ukraine. In South Africa, the increasing price of petrol has been largely protested. And more price hikes are on the way.
Also read: April is looking bleak for SA motorists, massive fuel hike expected
Juice for our vehicles is not the only fuel that is expected to escalate in price. Crowd favourite carbohydrates — fuel for our bodies — are set to become pricier too. Namely, bread and slap chips. An attack on comfort food…
Looking at the beloved slap tjip, it’s not necessarily the price of potatoes that will increase, but that of cooking oil. Cooking oil, or liquid gold as it’s now become, is in short supply in South Africa.
While products like sunflower and canola oil are produced in country, local consumption is too high to match demands. So, imports, mostly from Russia and Bulgaria, have been subsidising the additional product that South Africa needs. For example, 250 000 tons of sunflower oil, according to Thomas Mielke, executive director for Oil World.
Couple this dependence on imports, affected by the war, with an already poor supply due to scarce harvests over the last few years, and South Africans better start treasuring its fries and crisps.
The knock-on effects will be felt in the increased price of frozen fries and wedges, and crisps (essentially, any potato products that require oil for cooking). Restaurants will not be left unscathed either. “Suppliers of chips will have to adjust their current pricing based on an increase in one of their main inputs, which is cooking oil,” Potatoes South Africa told Business Insider.
In addition, cooking slap chips relies on electricity or gas, which are also expected to hike in price. That’s if Eskom can keep the lights on in the first place.
Before you start batting your eyelashes at bread for your carb cravings, check your bank balance. The price of bread is also set to increase as a result of Russia’s war. But only in three months time (this does not mean you should panic buy all of the bread for the next 90 days). Freezing a loaf or two is reasonable, but please, don’t do to the bread what you did to the toilet paper in 2020.
Also read: This is how the Western Cape’s agricultural trade is affected by the Russian-Ukraine conflict
Russia and Ukraine control more than a quarter of the world’s wheat exports, so the war has resulted in essential grains like wheat (the key ingredient in bread) becoming more expensive too.
The Western Cape Department of Agriculture indicated that “the country’s wheat and meslin imports from Russia and Ukraine were valued at R2.3 billion in 2020, and the Western Cape absorbed about 28% of those imports in value terms.”
However, statistics show that about 70% to 80% of all wheat flour produced is used for bread baking, attracting an estimated annual consumer expenditure of R6,7 billion in 2020.
“In the Western Cape, 76% of all bread consumed is white bread. Therefore, a limited supply of wheat in the global markets will impact the domestic markets, and the increase in the price of bread will be one of the signs indicating a limited supply of wheat,” the Department added in a statement.
Increasing the pressure is double and triple-digit increases in fertiliser costs for South African farmers, reports Business Insider.
Jannie Strydom, the spokesperson of Agri Western Cape, said that lower-income groups would be significantly affected by increases in bread prices and other staple foods such as maize meal.
The Russian invasion has sent prices of several essential commodities soaring. Between a weaker exchange rate, higher oil prices, and increases in fuel prices — to name a few areas of concern — it’s looking to be an expensive year ahead for South Africans.
Please, Cape Town, support local farmers and producers where you can.
Also read:
From sports to shipping ports, Russia becomes persona non grata
Picture: Unsplash