THE March 2025 Household Affordability Index reveals troubling trends in food prices, highlighting the ongoing struggles of working families in South Africa
Compiled by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity (PMBEJD), which tracks the prices of 44 basic foods from 47 supermarkets and 32 butcheries, in Johannesburg, Durban (KwaMashu, uMlazi, Isipingo, Durban CBD, Hammarsdale and Pinetown) and Pietermaritzburg, it shows that:
In March 2025: The average cost of the household food basket was R5 329.36.
Month–on–month: The average cost of the household food basket increased by R16.14 (0.3%), from R5 313.22 in February 2025 to R5 329.36 in March 2025.
PMBEJD spokesperson Mervyn Abrahams said in March, of the 44 foods tracked in the basket, 22 foods increased in price, 21 foods decreased in price, and 1 food, oranges, remained…