The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD) says consumers need to brace for a flurry of price hikes in 2022 – including food items that have already climbed far above headline inflation.

After reprieve at the petrol pumps in January, South African motorists could see another hefty hike in February on the back of increasing international oil prices, according to economists from the Bureau for Economic Research (BER).

South Africa faces a hefty electricity price hike in April despite ongoing load shedding and energy production concerns surrounding Eskom.

The Department of Energy has announced the official fuel price adjustments set to come into effect on Wednesday, 5 January 2022.

The national lockdown enforced in South Africa as part of the country’s efforts to manage the Covid-19 pandemic delivered a severe blow to the alcoholic sector in 2020, sending production volumes into a negative spiral and entirely debilitating certain sections of the market.

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has called for changes to how the fuel price is calculated in South Africa as the country’s motorists pay record-high prices.

Chicken prices are expected to soar over the festive season, figures from ChickenFacts and the National Agricultural Marketing Council indicate, impacted by the cost of chicken feed, droughts, avian flu, South Africa’s recent civil unrest, the prices of fuel and increased tariffs on chicken imports.

A red-faced Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) says it made a mistake in calculating the petrol price hike introduced on December 1 — the increase is 6c a litre lower than first announced.

South African consumers over the past year have felt great pressure on their finances and are the most concerned consumer market in the world about the escalation of prices in the near future, according to a survey conducted by auditing firm Deloitte.

South Africans will pay more than R20 a litre for petrol from Wednesday (1 December), adding further pressure to strained finances over the holiday season.

South African consumers will have to dig deeper in their pockets at the tills this festive season, with food prices set to rise on the back of rising petrol prices, feed, and input costs.

CRM global leader Salesforce predicted that consumers would face higher prices this coming Festive Season.