South Africa’s annual food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation fell to 0.9% in July 2026, its lowest reading in more than 16 years, while household food baskets in Cape Town moved in the opposite direction, rising R26.99 in August. Statistics South Africa released the July Consumer Price Index on 19 August 2026, confirming headline inflation at 4.3% and food inflation at 0.9% year-on-year.
Stats SA attributed the easing mainly to cereal products and meat, with monthly price declines recorded for maize meal at minus 3.1%, macaroni at minus 0.7%, and white bread at minus 0.6%. Reuters independently confirmed the figures on 19 August, reporting that food inflation had reached its lowest level since June 2010, when it stood at 0.7%.
“The annual rate for food and NAB declined to 0.9% in July,” Stats SA said in its release. “This is the lowest print for food and NAB in more than 16 years, since June 2010 when it was 0.7%.”
Despite the national cooling, the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity group’s August 2026 Household Affordability Index showed the average 44-item household food basket still cost R5,479.80. That figure represented a month-on-month decrease of R50.72 from July but a year-on-year increase of R99.18 compared to August 2025.
The PMBEJD survey tracked prices across 52 supermarkets and 36 butcheries in several South African cities, including Cape Town, where the basket became R26.99 more expensive in August. The cheapest city was Pietermaritzburg at R5,173.57, while Springbok was the most expensive at R6,109.75.
For families on the Cape Flats and across Cape Town, the divergence between national inflation data and supermarket till receipts means the headline relief has not translated into cheaper groceries locally. The PMBEJD’s year-on-year increase of R99.18 confirms that the average basket still costs nearly R100 more than it did a year ago, despite inflation cooling to levels not seen since 2010.
What remains unclear is whether the Cape Town increase will reverse in coming months or whether local retailer pricing and supply factors will keep prices elevated. The specific impact on individual Cape Flats suburbs beyond the PMBEJD’s Cape Town aggregate is not independently verified by a second source.
Cape Flats journalist Nadia Adams will monitor the September PMBEJD release and the next Stats SA CPI publication, covering August 2026 data, expected in mid-September.