Food prices turn after nine months as inflation reaches 4,4%
Stats SA's August consumer price index records the first rise in food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation since November 2025, while fuel inflation keeps easing.
Annual consumer inflation rose to 4,4% in August from 4,3% in July, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on Wednesday, ending a run in which food prices had been easing for eight straight months.
The consumer price index showed no change between July and August, Stats SA said in its August 2026 CPI release, which is a summary of the month’s price movements rather than the full statistical record.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation rose for the first time since November 2025, to 1,1% in August from 0,9% in July. The pick-up was spread across several categories. Cereal products moved from -2,0% in July to -1,9% in August. Fish and other seafood rose to 7,5% from 6,6%. Milk, other dairy products and eggs went from 1,9% to 2,1%. Fruits and nuts moved from -7,5% to -5,5%, vegetables from -2,5% to -0,6%, and cold beverages from 4,4% to 4,5%.
Eight of the 19 items in the cereal products category registered higher rates. White rice eased less sharply, from -11,6% to -10,8%, and white bread rose from 3,2% to 3,9%.
Meat moved in two directions. Pork prices kept climbing, with ham and bacon up 8,6% and pork up 6,6% over the 12 months to August. Beef stayed in deflationary territory. Stewing beef is 5,3% cheaper than a year ago, steak 3,9% cheaper and mince 3,8% cheaper.
The fish and seafood category continued to accelerate. Hake, fresh or frozen, is 12,0% more expensive than a year ago. Frozen fish fingers rose 11,3% and battered or crumbed fish 9,4%.
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco eased by 0,1% month on month in August, a decline Stats SA notes is unusual outside December. Spirits and liqueurs dipped 0,4% and wine 0,2%. The annual increase for the category was 3,6%, slightly down from July’s 3,7%.
The health index edged 0,1% lower between July and August, with decreases recorded across a range of medicines. Painkillers fell 0,2%, cough and other respiratory products 0,3%, and vitamin and mineral supplements 0,3%. Annual health inflation was 3,4% in August.
Transport inflation eased to 8,8% from 8,9% in July, driven mainly by slower fuel inflation, which came down to 20,0% from 20,6%. Petrol prices decreased 2,0% between July and August, while diesel prices rose 3,1%.
Source: Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), Consumer inflation nudges higher in August 2026
