Prices for potatoes in South Africa have seen a massive spike over the past year, setting a new record high. Last week, a bag of 10kg potatoes surged 13% and reached a staggering R97.09 ( about US$6,50) due to low supply from farmers, reports Ntando Thukwana for Business Insider South Africa.
In his weekly YouTube video that tracks the market prices for fresh produce in South Africa, market analyst Johnny van der Merwe said the cost of potatoes is now as much as 102% higher than this time last year.
“The high demand and extremely low volumes resulted in the potato price [reaching] an official new record high price and increased by 13% to R97.09 per 10 kilogram bag. This price is 102% higher than last year [at] the same time,” Van der Merwe said. This price may also stay at its high level during October but possibly start to decrease from November onwards as volumes are also likely to increase on the markets,” said Van der Merwe.
The price surge has exceeded previous highs seen mid-October last year – the current level is about 16% higher than last year’s high.
