Record fuel price will affect your grocery bill
Poor South Africans
will bear the brunt of the record fuel prices, says Grain SA.
Petrol will go up by 82 cents per litre and diesel by between 85 and 87 cents per litre at midnight on Tuesday.
This means that in Gauteng, a litre of 93
petrol will cost R15,54.
Grain SA economist Luan van der Walt says the diesel constitutes 10 to 12 percent of a grain farmer's budget, of which 30 to 40 percent is used during the harvesting season.
The last hike in the fuel comes during harvesting season and will have a massive impact on farmers.
"It's yet another increase in the price, which means it is an increase on the cost and will have a negative impact on the profitability of the farmers," says Van der Walt.
Van der Walt says the increase will have a spillover effect, from harvesting, processing, and food cost, which will ultimately be borne by already hard-pressed consumers.
"If you look through the value chain of the products, the products that need to be processed and transported from point to another.
“The higher fuel price is negative, not only for the farmers, but the whole value chain further down to the consumer price.”