South Africa: Potato prices spike 15% in a week after black frost hits Limpopo crop

Published 2024년 8월 28일

Tridge summary

South Africa, the continent's third-largest potato producer, experienced a significant price surge for the staple food in late July 2023, with prices rising by 15% in a week, reaching an average of R85.31 for a 10 kg bag. This increase is largely due to severe frost damage in Limpopo, a major potato-producing region, which led to a reduction in supplies. This price hike contrasts with the overall trend of decreasing food and consumer inflation in the country.

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Original content

Potatoes are a major starchy staple in South Africa, alongside maize meal and bread. The country produced 2.4 million tons of potatoes in 2023, making it the third-biggest producer in Africa, after Egypt and Algeria. Average national prices jumped 15% in the week to 28 August, data from Potatoes SA showed. The average price of 10 kg of potatoes was R85.31 on Wednesday, up from R74.24 a week ago. Sharper price increases were recorded in Nelspruit and Cape Town, where a bag of potatoes is selling for almost R100. Prices started rising sharply above the seasonal average during the last two weeks of July, according to the data. Limpopo, one of South Africa's warmer regions, typically increases its share of supplies to the market from July up to December as output from the Free State region diminishes. It was hit by its worst frost in years, which left ...

Source: News24