JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 4 — South African households are facing persistent cost-of-living pressures as fuel, transport, electricity and water costs continue to outpace overall inflation, the country’s Competition Commission warned Friday.
In its latest Cost of Living Report, the commission said rising prices of essential goods and services have continued to erode household purchasing power, with low-income families particularly vulnerable because necessities account for nearly 84 percent of their total spending.
The report said the first half of 2026 was characterized by a significant increase in fuel costs, which pushed up transport, production, logistics and distribution expenses across the economy.
Transport was a major driver of pressure in the first half of 2026. From January to July, petrol inflation rose 26 percent and minibus taxi fares increased 13 percent, compared with headline inflation of 3.8 percent.
The commission warned that taxi fares often remain elevated even after fuel prices decline. Electricity and water costs also rose sharply. Between July 2025 and July 2026, electricity inflation reached 8.1 percent and water inflation 10.1 percent, against headline inflation of 4.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the report raised concerns over price transmission in the food sector. Despite falling maize prices and a record harvest, producer prices for maize meal did not decline accordingly, while unusually wide price spreads could not be fully explained by higher fuel costs.
Similar concerns were raised over brown bread and sunflower oil. The report warned that historically high margins at some stages of the food value chain raised concerns that price increases might not always be fully cost-reflective.
It said there were legitimate concerns that some prices might not decline once fuel prices stabilize, citing historical evidence of so-called “rocket and feather” pricing, where prices rise quickly when costs increase but decline more slowly when costs fall.
The commission said South African households continued to face significant and persistent cost-of-living pressures, with rising prices of essential goods and services eroding purchasing power, calling for closer monitoring of price movements across key value chains to ensure that cost increases are justified and that consumers benefit when input costs decline.(Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
