South Africans have been hit pretty hard this festive season with steep increases in the prices of tomatoes (21%) and potatoes (39%), and let’s not forget the fuel hike.
Consumers will now have to reach much deeper into their pockets as the price of chicken may increase in 2022. According to CEO of Road Freight Association, Gavin Kelly, this is due to the cost of transportation that is currently under pressure.
The transportation sector was significantly affected by the unrest in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July, and recently, by the N3 truck protests too. But the the industry is also impacted by rising feed and labour costs, as well as the deteriorating rand-dollar exchange rate.
Earlier this month, BusinessTech reported that chicken and beef products registered the largest annual increases in November. “Price increases were recorded for IQF chicken portions (up 13.7%), chicken giblets (up 7.7%), beef offal (up 14.6%) and beef mince (up 5.1%),” they expressed.
Kelly explained that poultry, like other food, is transported several times from the time it leaves the port or farm, and each trip has become costly, as per News24.
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