South Africans are very frustrated about the amount of food that is going bad as a result of load shedding and the extreme heat. Currently, it seems they are being forced to throw out hundreds of rand on a weekly basis. The dairy, meat and fruit and vegetables industry is bemoaning the high costs now associated with running generators and buying diesel to keep their cold rooms running.
Agri players have had to spend an enormous about of money to invest in generators and these are capital intensive. Input cost has become an additional cost to the producing of goods, and many of their members are not able to recover that in product prices because consumers can’t afford to pay. Supermarkets refuse to alter their price increases, which leads to margin squeeze in the manufacturing sector.
Source: citizen.co.za