The tradition of long leisurely summer days devoted to good food and family, marked by a growing mound of mango peels, nectarine pips and watermelon rinds, appear to be a thing of the past.
Now South Africans are driven by a desire to take advantage of Black Friday deals (or what they are led to believe are good deals) and the very first item to be cut when spending is tight, is fruit.
"Fruit always remains a luxury, always," states Julian van der Nat, manager at Subtropico agency at the Tshwane market, where the Black Friday month end is a slow day, in the fruit halls and the vegetable halls. The marketing triumph that washed over from the United States - convincing consumers of new desires - is in his view nothing but a pernicious development.
The chase after supposed deals reminds him of pensioners gambling out their last cents, Van der Nat remarks, and instead of concern for the high levels of household debt, the government is satisfied by the VAT generated through the Black Friday shopping frenzy.
"The only place where people can save is on fruit and vegetables, but specifically fruit. We're now entering a very difficult period of the year: first it's Black Friday when people splash all their money, then they wait for the Christmas bonus and they spend it all on presents and Christmas. Then it's the new year and children go back to school with all those expenses."
Van der Nat observes that during the festive period, fruit competes directly with alcohol sales and, increasingly, technological gadgets which appear to dilute the traditional focus on food and hospitality.
Vusi Mahlangu at Subtropico agency at the Tshwane municipal market
"Fifty percent of our buyers at the market own stores that sell groceries too, apart from fruit and vegetables. They're telling us that if they're not running Black Friday specials, they're seeing barely any feet in store."
A tweet by journalist Nicole Barlow on X caught his eye this week. She recounts her consternation at the price of cut flowers, which encapsulates the state of the economy, she notes. "I decided to check the price for the large size [bouquet] and nearly choked when I saw it. To put it into perspective, the cost of the large bouquet was 50% of what I pay for my monthly bond repayments." 
For more information:
Julian van der Nat
Subtropico
Email: [email protected]
https://subtropico.co.za/