Consumer inflation unchanged in February
February saw hefty increases in the price of bread and cereal, Statistics South Africa announced on Wednesday.
Headline consumer inflation remained unchanged from January to February, holding steady at 5.7%.
According to Stats SA, annual bread and cereal inflation jumped to 3.7% in February from 1.5% in January.
Stats SA’s Lekau Ranoto says this is in the category of grain-based food made from wheat, rice and maize.
"The monthly change was also significant: prices climbed by 2,4% between January and February, representing the biggest monthly increase for this category since the beginning of 2019.
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"A number of bread and cereal products registered large monthly price increases, most notably staples such as maize meal (up by 3,7%) and white bread (up by 3,2%). In rand terms, a loaf of white bread was on average 69c more expensive in February than in January, up to R16,16 from R15,47.
"Other products with large price increases include ready-mix flour and cake flour (both up by 4,7%), pasta (up by 4,1%), and porridge and macaroni (both up by 2,9%). Brown bread prices climbed by 2,5%."
Ranoto says Stats SA will continue keeping an eye on the impact of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
"With much focus on the war in Ukraine and the impact that this might have on grain supply, price movements in the bread and cereals category will be closely watched in the near future."
