South African potato prices have risen 15% on average in the last week, according to statistics from an industry association released on Wednesday, after black frost devastated crops and tightened supplies in Limpopo province, a major producing region, Cape {town} Etc reports.
Also read: Tomato and potato prices continue to skyrocket as demand increases
Potatoes are a key starchy staple in South Africa, along with maize meal and bread. The country produced 2.4 million tonnes of potatoes in 2023, making it Africa’s third-largest producer after Egypt and Algeria.
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Potatoes SA reported that average nationwide prices increased by 15% in the week ending 28 August. On Wednesday, the average price of 10 kg potatoes was R85.31, up from R74.24 the previous week. Nelspruit and Cape Town had sharper price hikes, with a bag of potatoes costing about R100.
Prices began rising considerably above the seasonal norm in the latter two weeks of July, according to the data.
Limpopo, one of South Africa’s warmest regions, regularly increases its share of market supplies from July to December, as output from the Free State region declines. It was slammed by the hardest frost in years, causing significant crop destruction.
The potato price increase comes as South Africa’s food inflation fell to 3.9% in July from 4.1% the previous month, its lowest level since January 2020.
South Africa’s consumer inflation decreased to 4.6% year on year in July, from 5.1% in June, marking a three-year low.
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Also read:
Consumers warned about low supply of Lays chips due to potato shortage in SA
Picture: JESHOOTS.COM/Unsplash
