Although just one aspect of the cost of living, the latest PMBEJD December 2025 Household Affordability Index is a welcome bit of good news.
Key data from the December 2025 Household Affordability Index
The December 2025 Household Affordability Index, which tracks the prices of 44 basic foods from 47 supermarkets and 32 butcheries, in Johannesburg (Soweto, Alexandra, Tembisa and Hillbrow), Durban (KwaMashu, Umlazi, Isipingo, Durban CBD, Hammarsdale and Pinetown), Cape Town (Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Philippi, Langa, Delft and Dunoon), Pietermaritzburg, Mtubatuba (in Northern KwaZulu-Natal), and Springbok (in the Northern Cape), shows that:
In December 2025: The average cost of the Household Food Basket is R5 333,45.
Month-on-month: The average cost of the Household Food Basket decreased by R80,08 (-1,5%), from R5 413,53 in November 2025 to R5 333,45 in December 2025.
Year-on-year: The average cost of the Household Food Basket decreased by R49,93 (-0,9%), from R5 383,38 in December 2024 to R5 333,45 in December 2025.
The December 2025 data can be found here soon.
Food prices affect less affluent households disproportionately more than almost anything else, and this dip is welcome relief.