Your festive braai is under attack as meat prices skyrocket
Braai lovers in Gauteng, in particular, are feeling the pinch, reporting an eye-watering annual meat-price increase.
Mzansi consumers, buckle up: your pockets are about to take a serious pounding this festive season.
As South Africa creeps closer to the festive season, the latest consumer inflation data confirms what your budget already feared: meat prices are soaring, threatening to derail the South African braai.
According to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) for September 2025, the annual inflation rate for meat hit a painful 11.7%. This figure represents the change in prices compared to September 2024.
For comparison, the overall annual consumer price inflation rate sits significantly lower, rising slightly from 3.3% in August 2025 to 3.4% in September 2025.
How did Consumer Price Index affect price of food, ‘soft’ drinks?
While overall food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 0.8 percentage points to the CPI headline annual rate in September 2025, the pain point for consumers remains the meat category. This is not a sudden spike, either.
Month-on-month, the index for meat prices climbed from 110.2 in August 2025 to 110.8 in September 2025, marking a 0.5% increase in that single month alone. Consumers in Gauteng, in particular, are feeling the pinch, reporting an eye-watering annual meat-price increase of 14.7%.
Interest rate decision on the horizon…
Rising inflation, even marginally, always puts the spotlight back on the South African Reserve Bank and the future of borrowing costs.
Consumers will be watching closely for any signals from the monetary policy committee regarding the next interest rate announcement (20 November 2025), keenly aware that tighter policy to combat price hikes like these could make festive borrowing even more expensive.