Potato prices spike after black frost hits crop

Potato prices have jumped 15% on average over the past week, data from an industry group showed, after black frost destroyed crops and tightened supplies in Limpopo, a major producing region.

Potatoes are a major starchy staple in South Africa, alongside maize meal and bread. The country produced 2.4-million tonnes 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 August 28, data from Potatoes SA showed. The average price of 10kg 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 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 widespread crop damage.

The potato price surge comes at a time when food inflation slowed to 3.9% in July, from 4.1% in the previous month, to reach its lowest level since January 2020.

Consumer inflation fell to 4.6% year on year in July from 5.1% in June, a three-year low. 

Reuters