Farmers and the agriculture sector received little mention in Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget, but their impact on the economy and food security loomed large.The Budget provided some reprieve as the liquor and cigarette sectors have been knocked with only a 4.9% increase in the excise tax.Stats SA says annual consumer inflation slowed for the third consecutive month, decreasing to 6.9% in January from 7.2% in December.. The annual rate climbed to 13.
Fish inflation rose to 13% from 10.4% in December – the highest annual inflation rate for fish since May 2009 when it was 14.2%.suggests that the cost of a basic nutritional food basket for a family of seven increased by R66.35 from R5,779 in December 2022 to to R5,845 in January 2023. The year-on-year increase of that food basket was 9.9%, which is in line with Treasury’s estimates for 2022.and Agri SA issued a statement calling for decisive interventions to protect food security.
Agri SA also recently expressed concern over the announcement of a 9.6% increase in the national minimum wage, saying an increase in costs would further strain already hard-pressed farmers who were battling to contain the costs of blackouts, crumbling infrastructure and high input costs. This will take effect from 1 April 2023, with refund payments taking place once the system is developed, and will be in place for two years, until 31 March 2025. This relief is implemented to limit the impact of power cuts on food prices.
While the excise duty increased by 4.9% on wine and brandy, the 0.7% increase on sparkling wine is in line with the industry’s request that the rate should be kept flat, to help SA’s sparkling wine align with international excise tax benchmarks. Basson said SA had a large and growing market for illicit alcohol, fuelled by high increases in taxes on liquor.