South African food producers and retailers have been slow to pass on the effects of declining cost pressures to cash-strapped consumers, an issue that may warrant further investigation, the nation’s antitrust agency said. Cost pressures are easing because of an end to rolling power outages, the rand’s strength against the dollar and declining fuel costs, the Competition Commission said in a report published October 4. Still, essential-food prices “remain high and are increasing at a rate that is unaffordable for low-income households.”
