South Africa’s food inflation rate dropped again in March 2025, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) reports in its monthly food inflation brief.
Food inflation dropped to 2.7% in March from 2.8% in February. South Africa’s general inflation rate, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) also dropped to 2.7%, so the two rates ended the month on level pegging.
Both rates have dropped considerably since 2023, when the food inflation rate peaked at nearly 14% and CPI inflation was around 7%.
“In March 2025, year-on-year inflation on food and non-alcoholic beverages remained below the 6% upper-limit inflation target for the 13th consecutive month,” BFAP reported.
The highest inflation rates in March were in the fruits and nuts and non-alcoholic beverage categories, with both registering a 7.9% increase over the previous year. Meat showed the lowest annual increase, at 0.4%, after a monthly drop of 0.3% in March.
