If you’re a regular South African consumer, chances are you’ve had to watch your pennies a bit more carefully when you hit the shops for your groceries.

If you’re wondering just how much more you’re spending, a new report from this weekend’s Sunday Times will make you cringe.

Professor Carel van Aardt, head of household wealth research at Unisa’s Bureau of Market Research, told the Sunday Times that over the last year, food prices have increased by 12.5%, almost double that of the 6.3% inflation rate.

These are the top six increases in South African food stuff over the last year, according to van Aardt’s research:

1. Vegetables (22.8%)
2. Oils and fats (21.5%)
3. Breads and cereals (21.5%),
4. Fruits (13%)
5. Dairy (6.5%)
6. Meat (6.3%)

A struggling economy, drought and the volatile rand have all contributed to the increase in prices and Standard Bank had said earlier this year, food price inflation is expected to peak around 12% this year. Some economists reckon this could be closer to 16.6%.

The paper compared a basket of basics at the four leading supermarkets and found that the average increase was between 22% – 26%, with Spar being the only exception where there has been an increase of just under 10%.

Earlier this year, the South African Food Sovereignty Campaign and the Consumer Action Network and Cosatu accused food manufacturers and retailers of artificially inflating the price of bread in the country.

Grain SA also noted that there was no price decrease when international wheat prices were lower.