JOHANNESBURG - The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has begun the second leg of its inquiry into the country’s food system.
The inquiry aims to investigate price-setting, affordability and market concentration across the food value chain.
The initial round of hearings exposed the stark reality of hunger in South Africa.
The Commission revealed in March that more than 22 percent of households -- about 14 million people -- regularly go to bed hungry.
The spokesperson for the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group, Mervyn Abrahams, painted a bleak picture of the country’s affordability challenges.
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Abrahams said that while the South African Constitution guarantees children the right to food and proper nutrition, rising food prices, coupled with stagnant incomes, have placed even the most basic food items out of reach for many households.
“We have seen that most households are unable to afford a basket of basic food.”
Abrahams argued that several factors contribute to the unaffordability of food, ultimately leading to hunger.
These, he said, include food prices and a lack of transparency within the retail sector.
He also rejected the argument that retail profit margins are minimal, saying this does not tell the full story.
Abrahams hopes the SAHRC will closely examine retailers, whom he describes as being at the apex of the food system.
He said retailers occupy the highest point in the food supply chain, while South Africans are net buyers of food.
“We buy our food from these retail stores. We know what the prices are at the gate level for vegetables, milk or fruit, etc. But then, in between that process, until it gets to the retail store, we do not know where these price increases come from, what is allocated to logistics, what is allocated to overheads, and what the profit margins are that each of these retailers works on?" he asked.
SAHRC spokesperson Wisani Baloyi emphasised that the right to food is fundamental and that no one should go to bed hungry.
“People cannot go to bed hungry. We have heard about people who are going to bed hungry, but also the fact that the country is said to be suffering from two issues, undernutrition and overnutrition, which becomes a problem.”
Baloyi said the second leg of the inquiry focuses largely on the role of the private sector, including how companies ensure food remains affordable despite these challenges.
“The majority of people are unemployed and are not able to afford food. But there are also those who are employed but are not able to afford food because of the pricing. And as a result, people end up buying not nutritious enough food to be able to sustain themselves.”
He said that while price-fixing allegations have not yet been raised during the inquiry, the Commission will ask participants to explain what determines food prices.