Johannesburg – Gauteng consumers incurred higher-than-normal food price increases in chicken, pork, vegetables and other essential household items due to load shedding, which negatively affected their income and affordability.

This was the admission of Gauteng Social Development, Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment MEC Mbali Hlophe in her written reply to questions by the DA’s Shadow MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Bronwyn Engelbrecht in the provincial legislature.

Engelbrecht asked Hlophe what the impact of load shedding had been on the cost of food in Gauteng and, in her reply, she said that initially the impact of load shedding on food production, especially for farmers in the province, depended on the type of production systems used, saying there had been minimal impact on extensive red meat production.

However, she said load shedding was detrimental to intensive systems such as poultry and piggery production, especially if electrical heating was used to regulate the temperature of chicks and piglets respectively.

“Horticulture farmers were also negatively affected as the producers rely more on irrigation to water their crops, for which the power is generated through electricity.

“The effect of load shedding can be severe on certain primary producers and even cause farming operations to close,” Hlophe said.

She said load shedding didn’t necessarily result in food shortages in Gauteng as the primary agricultural sector was diverse.

“However, the price of certain commodities such as chicken, pork, vegetables, etc, has increased due to a lower supply and higher production costs, negatively influencing food affordability.

“The large problem with load shedding was found in terms of processing the food, especially fresh produce reliant on a sustained cold chain,” she said.

For food safety and quality reasons, Hlophe said, fresh produce must be kept at constant temperatures, and processors and distributors had no choice but to use extensive private electricity generation, further pushing up the cost of food.

Detailing how her department tried to assist the affected farmers, Hlophe said some of agro-processors were previously supported with refrigerated trucks as part of cold chain storage mitigation. She also said that some of the farmers were provided with back-up generators but said the cost of diesel was “very high to maintain”.

However, she could not give details on the cost of the losses suffered by the farmers, saying “although losses or alternatively higher input costs were incurred by fresh produce farmers, it is difficult to quantify them in rands and cents.

“It must also be noted that some fresh produce farmers were able to pass higher input costs to retailers, and this resulted in higher prices for consumers,” she said.

Reacting to the replies, Engelbrecht said this was worrying because many residents could not afford basic food items to sustain themselves and their families.

“In addition, the Gauteng provincial government has failed to indicate exactly how high the cost of food has risen due to load shedding.

“While the government has given some support to agro-processors by providing them with back-up generators, the cost of diesel is too high for this to be a sustainable solution,” Engelbrecht said.

She said the DA would continue to put pressure on the government to find a long-term solution to ensure that the province was less reliant on Eskom for electricity.

“If this current situation continues, more jobs will be lost, and the risk of food insecurity will increase,” Engelbrecht said.

While residents are faced with food price increases, the latest data from the Central Energy Fund shows that diesel prices may be hiked by around R2 a litre, depending on the grade. The price of 95 and 93 unleaded petrol could increase by R1.23 and R1.15 a litre, respectively, based on the current oil and rand prices.

The AA said this would push fuel prices to levels comparable to July last year.

Fuel prices are expected to be set on October 4.

“The outlook is certainly bleak, although it has improved a little since the beginning of the month. With two more weeks before the official adjustment for October is made, South Africans will be hoping the downward trajectory continues.

“Although increases are now a certainty for October, the question will be by how much fuel prices will ultimately rise,” the AA said.

The Saturday Star