It’s not all doom and gloom for consumers in SA
Cash-strapped South Africans have had to deal with rising prices for a number of consumer items but Stats SA says there are items for which prices have actually come down from January this year.
WITH South Africans having to cope with rising prices, Stats SA’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data show that there are in fact items that are cheaper now than they were at the beginning of the year.
Cash-strapped South Africans have had to deal with rising prices for a number of consumer items, according to Stats SA’s CPI statistical release. In 2017, consumers have had to fork out more money to pay for the costs of education, medical services, insurance, water, electricity and meat.
Contrary to popular opinion, the data showed that there are other items for which prices have actually come down, if we compare the latest figures from August 2017 with those recorded in January 2017. Postal and telecommunication services, recreational equipment, fuel (petrol and diesel), hotels and appliances all experienced slight price decreases.
For those using 93 octane petrol and live inland, filling a 45 litre tank in August would have been R577 compared with the R589 it was in January which would save the consumer R12.
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Fuel overall was 1,7 per cent cheaper in August than it was in January, however, the year is not over yet. Fuel prices increased between August and September, and the recent adjustment in fuel prices in October saw the price of 93 octane petrol rise by 25 cents from R13,49 to R13,74 per litre. The extent to which these changes will impact inflation will only be fully revealed in October and November.
Household appliances and tableware prices fell by 2,4 per cent in August compared with January, with price decreases recorded for irons, kettles, toasters and washing machines. The average price of a new washing machine, for example, fell by R216 over this period, from R4 656 to R4 440.
South Africans spend more money on beer than vegetables, as revealed in a recent Stats SA article. For those that prefer greens over hops, however, it might come as some comfort to learn that vegetable prices fell by 3,6 per cent in the first eight months of this year, after rising rapidly in the second half of 2015.
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Bread and cereal prices have also eased over the course of this year. With crop production recovering from one of the worst droughts in recent history, bread and cereal prices dropped by 4 per cent in August compared with January.
Bananas, plums and pineapples contributed to fruit prices falling by 8,4 per cent in August compared with January. The last time the fruit price index was around this level was in June 2016.
The price index for telecommunication equipment fell by 8,6 per cent in August compared with January. The average price for a cellular phone, for example, decreased by R82 from R2 622 in January 2017 to R2 540 in August 2017. Since January 2014, overall prices for telecommunication equipment have fallen by 36 per cent.
