October 16, 2002
By Tendai Dhliwayo
A BRIEF survey comparing the prices of basic foods like fruits and vegetables between supermarkets and hawkers in Yeoville reveals that consumers do have something to smile about in this era of skyrocketing food prices. Street traders generally charge lower prices, and are becoming an increasingly popular choice.
For only R4, one can walk away with a cabbage from a hawker; the same cabbage at a supermarket will cost an extra 59 cents. A toilet roll in a supermarket is priced at R1.30; at the Yeoville market it is 30 cents less.
According to one shopper at the Yeoville market, she prefers it because "it is cheaper than the supermarket". She has just bought two packets of fresh green peas for R6 and says that at the supermarket, the price would be R3 more. She adds that she enjoys the friendly service from the hawkers, and supports them because these "people should make a living".
But are hawkers at the informal markets always cheaper? Not every time, for every item. For example, pineapples at the stall of one trader in the Yeoville Market were a bit pricey at R4.99 each. At nearby Shoprite Checkers, they were on sale for R3.99 each. The lesson seems to be that consumers need to do their window shopping carefully.
Livers Rikhotso, a trader at the market, says price is not the only reason people shop at the market. He says fruits and vegetables at the market are fresh. "We go to the market [the Fresh Produce Market at City Deep] every morning. Our vegetables are fresh and not refrigerated." Hawkers use taxis or share costs for hired vehicles to move their products from City Deep to their stalls.
Supermarkets, he adds, can refrigerate their stock, but informal traders only hoard for the day. Thus he says during summer, market prices are low as products can quickly go bad due to lack of refrigeration. Low prices make the hawkers popular with consumers.
Traders, however, raise their prices in winter as low temperatures mean that products stay fresh for a long period.
Aspar Mogale, trading along Rockey Street, says prices at the Yeoville Market are lower for a simple reason: if they were on par with the supermarkets, people would not buy and their products would go bad. Though their prices are low, Mogale says, traders do manage to make "a little profit".
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
