The Statistics South Africa report showing deepening poverty levels in the country has cast the spotlight on the affordability of basic food items, especially in the vulnerable section of society.
At least 55.5% of the population, or 30.4 million people, live below the poverty line. Demonstrating extreme poverty, some people are surviving on R441 a month, hardly enough for them to afford essential food items.
Julie Smith, a researcher at the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action, said this week that the concept of affordability was complex as it was not just related to income. It is also related to employment rates; family sizes and the number of people one income supports; the costs of goods and services, food being just one of these costs; and household debt levels, she argues.
The poverty levels often lead to poor nutrition such as a low level of protein intake, which has social consequences.
"The impact of low levels of protein consumption is that our immune systems are vulnerable to infection and illnesses," Smith says.
— Average prices of beef and chicken were 45.5% and 10.5% less expensive in South Africa compared with the global average
Children need protein to feed their muscles, to grow, to plan and to learn. Low consumption of animal products leads to incidences of undernutrition. The consequences of poor nutrition for an economy are low levels of educational achievement, which affects productivity.
The Stats SA report coincided with findings by online caterer Caterwings, which looked into the average cost of meat in more than 50 countries, focusing on beef, chicken, pork and lamb.
The research prioritised top meat-producing and -consuming countries and then analysed data sources from food retailers.
The survey also focused on the affordability of meat, or lack thereof, by showing a relative number of hours a person on the minimum wage has to work to be able to buy each type of meat.
Average prices of beef and chicken were 45.5% and 10.5% less expensive in South Africa compared with the global average. A beef leg round cost $6.54 (R86.32/kg) compared with $49.68 (R655.77) in Switzerland.
— Australia has the highest meat consumption at 111.5kg/person. India has the lowest with 4.4kg/person. South Africa consumes 58.60kg/person.
Chicken breast fetched $5.66 (R74.71/kg) versus $27.14 (R358.24/kg) in Switzerland.
The average price for pork and lamb were 35% and 23% less expensive in South Africa relative to global averages.
Seafood was 12% more expensive in the country than the average cost price worldwide, with white fish costing $13.42 (R177.14/kg), salmon $28.06 (R370.39/kg) and shrimp $25.10 (R331.23/kg).
Overall, South Africa's meat was 20% less costly than the world average.
Switzerland has the highest meat prices, followed by Norway and Hong Kong.
Ukraine has the least expensive meat prices, followed by Malaysia.
In the top 10 most expensive countries, four are in Asia, and the remaining six are split between northern and western Europe.
In the top 10 least expensive countries, five are in Asia, two are in central and southern America, two in Eastern Europe and one in Northern Africa.
Australia has the highest meat consumption at 111.5kg/person. India has the lowest with 4.4kg/person. South Africa consumes 58.60kg/person.
South Africans favour chicken, with consumption at 40.04kg a person yearly. Production is 1.7 million tons and consumption 2.2 million tons a year, according to FNB.
Beef per capita consumption is 20.93kg a year. South Africa produces about 1.2 million tons of beef and consumes almost the same. Pork per capita is 4.8kg a year and 242900 tons of it were produced last year.
The prices of animal protein in South Africa are largely determined by retailers.
"Farmers are price takers and the higher margins are mainly at retail level," said Paul Makube, an agricultural economist at FNB.
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