Consumers bemoan high cost of living

The current inflation rate is at 10.6% and is the highest the country has experienced since March 2009. The rate has been driven by the price increases in many commodities, particularly fuel. Local commodity suppliers, among them Bolux Milling, have warned that due to imported inflation necessitated by factors such as the war in Ukraine, which has impacted negatively on the global supply chain, consumers should brace themselves for regular price increases on basic commodities such as bread and maize. Other suppliers are expected to follow suit. Prices of other key commodities such as cooking oil have also increased substantially in recent months.

Keletso Morake, who has been trading as a street vendor for the past seven years, is among those who are feeling the pinch of the rising cost of living. Morake told this publication that she recently reduced her stock because her business was running at a loss owing due to a shift in customers’ spending patterns. She said that she observed that her customers were now prioritising very basic commodities at the expense of her products in a bid to counter the high cost of living.