Inflation & Prices
Pricey Potatoes Pinch Cherished South African Lunch Culture
- Cost of living a crisis for poor in nation of vast inequality
- Bloomberg’s Shisa Nyama Index of township staples rises 17%
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In Johannesburg’s buzzy student enclave of Braamfontein, the rising price of potatoes is undermining its communal eating culture as people snack solo to save money.
Chips, as fried potatoes are called here, are a staple in South Africa, often simply eaten with bread or inside a kota – a hollowed out quarter loaf that’s then generously stuffed with layers of fillings like cheese, egg, sausage and tomato ketchup.