Makunga said there was a short-lived increase in maize prices in April due to stocks running low before the new harvest arrived in May. But the price has come down in the last month due to the bumper crop being harvested.The same applied to fresh produce as prices shot up in the initial period of lockdown due to panic buying.
However, since the end of April, prices across fresh produce markets, aside from non-seasonal fruit, have been declining, Makunga said.The commission's CEO, Tembinkosi Bonakele, warned MPs recently that if the rand continued to decline, the country may experience more food price increases. “Once the price of bread starts rising everybody is going to be quite upset and coming to the authorities,” he said at the time.Stats SA reported last month that the prices of essential products decreased by 0.5% during the Covid-19 level 5 lockdown in April. It said the index increased in the first week of April but then dropped in each of the three successive weeks.
All food categories ended that month in deflationary territory except for milk, eggs and cheese, oils and fats and other foods, it said in a statement.
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