The commission, which has tracked these since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic to protect consumers from exploitation, described the decrease as a positive sign, adding that the increase in producer prices moved from R 22.54 to R 22.84 during the same period.
The report shows that some of the prices of food that the commission has tracked have started falling, albeit modestly. "Our EFPM monitoring indicates that consumers are slowly feeling the benefits of easing cost pressures throughout the economy."
However, the cost of eggs has remained high. "The egg value chain was severely affected by the highly pathogenic avian flu outbreak that occurred towards the end of 2023," read the report.
"A year later, prices have been slow to normalise. At the time of the outbreak, industry players predicted that flocks would normalize 17 months after the outbreak, which would be May 2025. The signs of the recovery are evident in the fact that egg producer prices are currently cheaper than they were in November 2023."
The most recent producer price for eggs was R13,76 for a half dozen compared to R24,81 for the retail price. The commission said this might indicate an attempt by the retail level of the value chain to recover.
The report said the producer spread for cooking oil fell from 27% to 23% from September to December 2024. "This welcome change was caused by lower producer prices towards the end of 2024. Prior to these price reductions, the producer prices increased despite stable seed prices, leading to higher spreads. In general, spreads look better at this level of the value chain for 2024 than they did in 2023."
When it comes to the cost of frozen chicken, the commission said it continues to be fairly restrained, with modest increases coming through at the producer and retail level. However, the commission said the prices of chicken have have not been worrisome, and the trend is continuing. "The producer to retail spread remains less than 38% – suggesting that there has not been a material change in the pricing behaviour of retailers and producers.
Turning to brown bread, the report shows the prices have been slow to respond, though retail prices have fallen slightly. The producer price of brown bread was R14,24 compared to farm value of wheat which is R3,26.
The report states that when it comes to maize meal, the value chain had been under immense pressure from the midsummer dryness experienced in February this year. "...this has had a disruptive effect on maize supplies in the country. From a pricing perspective, the upward trend that began in March 2024 continued for the rest of the year.
"However, higher white maize prices have not been fully transmitted to producer prices. Consequently, the farm value to producer price spread has narrowed to 20%, the lowest since November 2022. So far, the higher white maize and maize meal producer prices have not translated into higher retail maize meal prices. The more stable average retail prices have resulted in the spread falling from 33% in September 2024 to 26% in December 2024."
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Price of canned pilchards down but eggs remain costly
Image: Antonio Muchave
The retail price of canned pilchards has slightly decreased, while the cost of eggs remains high, according to the Competition Commission's latest Essential Food Pricing Monitoring (EFPM) report released on Thursday.
In the past six months, canned pilchards have gone down from 19% to 17%. This means from August to December 2024, the retail price for canned pilchards decreased from R 27.81 to R 27.46 per can.
The EFPM report tracks prices of selected essential food items.
The commission, which has tracked these since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic to protect consumers from exploitation, described the decrease as a positive sign, adding that the increase in producer prices moved from R 22.54 to R 22.84 during the same period.
The report shows that some of the prices of food that the commission has tracked have started falling, albeit modestly. "Our EFPM monitoring indicates that consumers are slowly feeling the benefits of easing cost pressures throughout the economy."
However, the cost of eggs has remained high. "The egg value chain was severely affected by the highly pathogenic avian flu outbreak that occurred towards the end of 2023," read the report.
"A year later, prices have been slow to normalise. At the time of the outbreak, industry players predicted that flocks would normalize 17 months after the outbreak, which would be May 2025. The signs of the recovery are evident in the fact that egg producer prices are currently cheaper than they were in November 2023."
The most recent producer price for eggs was R13,76 for a half dozen compared to R24,81 for the retail price. The commission said this might indicate an attempt by the retail level of the value chain to recover.
The report said the producer spread for cooking oil fell from 27% to 23% from September to December 2024. "This welcome change was caused by lower producer prices towards the end of 2024. Prior to these price reductions, the producer prices increased despite stable seed prices, leading to higher spreads. In general, spreads look better at this level of the value chain for 2024 than they did in 2023."
When it comes to the cost of frozen chicken, the commission said it continues to be fairly restrained, with modest increases coming through at the producer and retail level. However, the commission said the prices of chicken have have not been worrisome, and the trend is continuing. "The producer to retail spread remains less than 38% – suggesting that there has not been a material change in the pricing behaviour of retailers and producers.
Turning to brown bread, the report shows the prices have been slow to respond, though retail prices have fallen slightly. The producer price of brown bread was R14,24 compared to farm value of wheat which is R3,26.
The report states that when it comes to maize meal, the value chain had been under immense pressure from the midsummer dryness experienced in February this year. "...this has had a disruptive effect on maize supplies in the country. From a pricing perspective, the upward trend that began in March 2024 continued for the rest of the year.
"However, higher white maize prices have not been fully transmitted to producer prices. Consequently, the farm value to producer price spread has narrowed to 20%, the lowest since November 2022. So far, the higher white maize and maize meal producer prices have not translated into higher retail maize meal prices. The more stable average retail prices have resulted in the spread falling from 33% in September 2024 to 26% in December 2024."
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