Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflationedged higher in August after nine months of declines, as some fish, meat and other food products became more expensive.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage (NAB) inflation increased to 1.1% from 0.9%, marking the first increase since November 2025 after nine consecutive months of declines
The increase came as overall annual consumer inflation edged up to 4.4% in August from 4.3% in July, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday.
Prices were unchanged overall between July and August.
Among food products, fish and other seafood recorded some of the sharpest increases. Hake was 12% more expensive than a year earlier, while frozen fish fingers were 11.3% more expensive and battered or crumbed fish was up 9.4%.
Pork prices increased by 6.6% year on year, while ham and bacon were 8.6% more expensive. White bread rose 3.9%.
But the picture was not uniformly one of rising food prices. Beef mince was 3.8% cheaper than a year earlier, stewing beef 5.3% cheaper and white rice 10.8% cheaper.
The latest figures follow a prolonged easing in food inflation. In July, Stats SA said food inflation had reached its lowest level since June 2010, driven largely by cheaper cereals and meat.
The cost of some medicines also fell between July and August. Stats SA said its health index declined by 0.1% month on month, with prices for painkillers falling 0.2%, cough and other respiratory products 0.3%, and vitamin and mineral supplements 0.3%. Annual health inflation was 3.4%.
Transport remained one of the biggest sources of inflationary pressure, although annual transport inflation eased marginally to 8.8% from 8.9% in July.
Fuel inflation was 20% in August, down from 20.6% in July. Petrol prices fell by 2% between July and August, while diesel prices increased by 3.1%.
The South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Police Committee is expected to announce its latest interest rate decision on Wednesday afternoon.