The farm value share is the value of the farm product’s equivalent in the final food product purchased by the consumers. The Farm-to-Retail-Price-Spread (FTRPS) is the difference between what the consumer pays for the food product at retail level and the value of the farm product used in that product. Price spreads measure the aggregate contributions of food manufacturing, distribution, wholesale and retail firms that transform farm commodities into final products:

• Poultry: During the fourth quarter of 2020 (November 2020 – January 2021), the real farm value share of fresh whole chicken increased by 21.06%. During the same period, the real FTRPS of fresh whole chicken decreased on average by 32.36%. The real farm value share of fresh whole
chicken reached 51.54% in January 2021. From January 2020 to January 2021, year-on-year, real FTRPS and the real farm value share decreased by 2.74% and 4.23%, respectively.

• Beef: The real FTRPS of class A2/A3 beef increased by 7.57% during the fourth quarter of 2020 (November 2020 – January 2021) to reach R43.58/kg in January 2021. The real farm value share of beef decreased by 3.31 during the fourth quarter and reached 49.56% in January 2021. From January 2020 to January 2021, year-on-year, the real FTRPS increased by 9.80%, while the real farm value share decreased by 0.58%.

• Lamb: The real FTRPS of class A2/A3 lamb increased by 15.82% from November 2020 to January 2021 to reach R75.15/kg in January 2021. The real farm value share decreased by 6.87%, on average, from November 2020 to January 2021 to reach 48.57% in January 2021. The real FTRPS
increased by 20.07% while the real farm value share decreased by 3.40% between January 2020 and January 2021.

• Pork: The real farm value share increased by 2.02%, on average from November 2020 to January 2021, to reach 39.51% in January 2021. The real FTRPS of pork decreased by 2.38% from R45.45/kg in November 2020 to R44.36/kg in January 2021. From January 2020 to January 2021, year-on-year, the real farm value share increased by 18.35%, while the real FTRPS decreased by 5.48%.

• Milk: The real FTRPS for full cream milk decreased by 4.04% from R8.73/ℓ to R8.37/ℓ, during the fourth quarter (November 2020 – January 2021). The real farm value share increased, on average by 4.63%, during the fourth quarter. From January 2020 to January 2021, year-on-year, the real farm value share increased by 27.55%, while the real FTRPS decreased by 11.04%.

• Maize: The real farm value share of super maize meal (5kg) increased by 26.90% from 40.82% in November 2020 to 51.80% in January 2021. While, the real FTRPS of super maize meal (converted to a price per ton) decreased by 17.13% from R4 468.42/ton in November 2020 to R3 703.14/ton in January 2021. From January 2020 to January 2021, year-on-year, the real FTRPS and the real farm value share increased by 6.37% and 4.63%, respectively.

• Wheat: In January 2021, the real FTRPS for white bread (converted to a price per ton) reached R23 274.52/ton of flour, with brown bread reaching R22 509.08/ton of flour. The real farm value share for white and brown bread reached 17.91% and 17.47%, respectively. From November 2020 to January 2021, real FTRPS for white and brown bread increased by 4.86% and 3.43%, respectively