Skip to content
Economics
Inflation & Prices

Soaring Cost of Fries Drives Up South African Shisa Nyama Index

  • A bag of potatoes cost 28% more in February than in December
  • Outlook is bleak for South Africa’s low-income earners

The village of Sodwana Bay in remote northeastern South Africa is renowned among scuba divers and deep-sea fishermen for its sharks, rays, marlin and seahorses. Lately it’s been getting a reputation for expensive fries.

The cost of potatoes jumped 28% over the past two months, the biggest increase of any single ingredient in Bloomberg’s Shisa Nyama Index.