Festive season

Price the hamper.

Build your stokvel or festive grocery hamper from the prices of 44 everyday foods, checked every month in South African supermarkets. See what it costs now, what it cost a year ago, and what each member needs to save.

Prices for September 2026
  • Maize meal 30kgR294R332
  • Rice 10kgR131R146
  • Cake Flour 10kgR122R124
  • White sugar 10kgR232R218
  • Sugar beans 5kgR189R221
  • Samp 5kgR72R73
  • Cooking oil 5LR161R158
  • Salt 1kgR17R16
  • Potatoes 10kgR100R75
  • Onions 10kgR172R104
  • Frozen chicken portions 10kgR428R408
  • Curry powder 200gR39R40
  • Stock cubes 24 cubes x2R51R51
  • Soup 400g x2R54R53
  • Tea 250gR33R31
  • Full cream milk 6LR98R98
  • Maas 4LR64R60
  • Eggs 60 eggsR139R145
  • Chicken feet 2kgR79R86
  • Gizzards 2kgR104R101
  • Chicken livers 2kgR77R76
  • Beef liver 2kgR127R129
  • Beef 2kgR209R216
  • Wors 2kgR155R157
  • Beef tripe 2kgR104R110
  • Fish 2kgR138R121
  • Tomatoes 6kgR134R113
  • Carrots 5kgR50R42
  • Butternut 10kgR113R124
  • Spinach 8 bunchesR115R107
  • Cabbage 2 headsR42R41
  • Green pepper 2kgR62R70
  • Cremora 800gR56R58
  • Tinned pilchards 400g x6R171R154
  • Canned beans 410g x6R92R94
  • Bananas 4kgR80R65
  • Apples 3kgR47R47
  • Oranges 7kgR49R60
  • Margarine 1kgR42R42
  • Peanut butter 400g x2R84R87
  • Polony 2.5kgR71R70
  • Apricot jam 900gR40R40
  • White bread 25 loavesR445R421
  • Brown bread 25 loavesR407R396
Hamper total
R1,565
A year ago: R1,617 (change in a year -3.2%)
Each member, each month
R156
Each member’s hamper: R1,565 · all 10: R15,650

Up the most in a year

Onions 10kgR172+66.2%
Potatoes 10kgR100+33.6%
Bananas 4kgR80+22.8%
Carrots 5kgR50+18.7%
Tomatoes 6kgR134+18.2%
Fish 2kgR138+13.5%

Cheaper than a year ago

Oranges 7kgR49-18.3%
Sugar beans 5kgR189-14.5%
Maize meal 30kgR294-11.5%
Green pepper 2kgR62-11.2%
Rice 10kgR131-9.8%
Butternut 10kgR113-8.4%

Festive seasonMake the stokvel go further

  • Buy the bulky staples, such as maize meal, rice, flour, sugar and oil, early and together: the price per kilogram falls with pack size, and these keep.
  • Leave meat and fresh produce for the last weeks: they spoil, and prices on them move most in December.
  • Ask the wholesaler for a stokvel quote. Many run stokvel desks and price large orders separately.

Prices are the average supermarket prices recorded by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD) Household Affordability Index for the month shown. Your own shop may be cheaper or dearer. Information, not advice.

QuestionsGood to know.

  • It depends on what goes in. Pick the items and quantities above and the calculator prices them with the latest monthly averages from South African supermarkets.

  • The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group’s Household Affordability Index, which prices 44 foods in supermarkets that lower-income households use, every month.

  • Divide the hamper cost for all members by the number of members and the number of months you save for. The calculator does this for you.

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