Business

Rising chocolate and butter prices drive up rates

Published

3 weeks ago

August 25, 2025

The rising cost of chocolate, butter and eggs has helped drive food price inflation to its highest in 18 months, a survey says.

Food inflation hit 4.2% this month, compared with 4% in July, according to the British Retail Consortium latest shop price monitor. It is higher than at any time since March of last year, when it was 3.7%.

The figure echoes separate recent data from the Office for National Statistics, which found the cost of everyday food items rising by a similar amount over the last year.

Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s chief executive, said there was some respite for parents as the new academic year approaches, with cheaper clothing, books and stationery.

Ms Dickinson said staples including butter and eggs had seen “significant increases” due to high demand, tightening supply and increased labour costs.

“Chocolate also got more expensive as global prices of cocoa remain high owing to poor harvests,” she said.

Poor cocoa harvests have been caused by climate change and crop disease.

“There was some respite for parents ahead of the new academic year, with lower prices for clothing, books, stationery, and computing.”

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NIQ, which compiles the BRC’s shop price monitor, said the uptick reflected “several factors”.

These included global supply costs, seasonal food inflation driven by weather conditions and a rise in underlying operational costs.

“As shoppers return from their summer holidays, many may need to reassess household budgets in response to rising household bills,” he added.

Increasing food prices added to increase in overall inflation in the year to July.

The latest official figures from the ONS put UK inflation – as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – at 3.8%, up from 3.6% in June.

According to the ONS, the cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 4.9% in the year to July, up from 4.5% in the year to June.

Its data also showed an even starker long-term picture, with food prices increasing by around 37% in the five years to July.

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Business

South Africa to launch AI-powered electronic travel authorisation system

Published

53 minutes ago

September 17, 2025

The Editors

The system will be officially unveiled by Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber at the Tourism Business Council of South Africa’s annual conference.

According to the government, the platform will initially process tourist visa applications for short stays of up to 90 days.

By the end of September, the system will go live at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport, before gradually expanding to other ports of entry and additional visa categories.

Minister Schreiber has described the initiative as a critical step toward eliminating inefficiencies and fraud: “Over time, the ETA will be expanded to more visa categories and rolled out at more ports of entry. This scale-up will continue until no person can enter South Africa without obtaining a digital visa through the ETA.”

A shift from paper to digital

The ETA builds on promises made by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his February State of the Nation Address, where he pledged to digitize immigration processes.

However, questions remain about the future of South Africa’s existing e-Visa portal, which currently serves over 30 countries.

Authorities have yet to confirm whether the ETA will replace or operate alongside the e-Visa system, raising concerns over possible duplication for travelers.

Africa’s need for openness

While the ETA aims to strengthen security and streamline border processes, experts say South Africa’s move also highlights a broader challenge: African countries remain less open to each other than to the rest of the world.

Intra-African visa restrictions have long been cited as a barrier to deeper trade and tourism links.

Greater openness, facilitated by modern systems like ETA, could help African nations unlock the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Easier cross-border movement would not only boost tourism but also support small businesses, regional logistics, and labor mobility, which are all essential for building competitive economies on the continent.

The bigger picture

South Africa’s ETA may be a milestone for its tourism and border security, but its broader significance lies in setting a regional precedent.

As African countries digitize entry systems, the real opportunity lies in aligning these policies to make cross-border travel smoother for African citizens.

If deployed strategically, ETA systems could help turn Africa’s longstanding vision of free movement, and by extension stronger intra-African trade, into a practical reality.

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Business

Workday to buy AI company Sana for $1.1bn

Published

1 hour ago

September 17, 2025

Laura Varley

The acquisition will enable the organisation to extend its AI capabilities.

US-based Enterprise software company Workday has announced plans to acquire AI platform Sana, in a deal valued at $1.1bn. By acquiring Sana, Workday aims to leverage the company’s AI knowledge and further itself amid a landscape that is focused on AI innovation.

“Sana’s team, AI-native approach and beautiful design perfectly align with our vision to reimagine the future of work,” said Gerrit Kazmaier, the president for product and technology at Workday.

He added, “This will make Workday the new front door for work, delivering a proactive, personalised, and intelligent experience that unlocks unmatched AI capabilities for the workplace.”

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Workday will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Sana for approximately $1.1 bn. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year in 2026.

The acquisition comes amid a time in which organisations across the globe are racing to implement AI technologies to address and even assume the challenges that arise in the workplace.

For example, in the past few months alone French technology services company Capgemini acquired US-based WNS to extend its AI reach. Aryza, a Dublin-based SaaS provider acquired conversational artificial intelligence provider Webio for an undisclosed sum and OpenAI said it was buying Io, an AI start-up founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive and several former Apple engineers.

Several governments too have unveiled broad spectrum plans to incorporate artificial intelligence into their national strategies, with a focus on business growth and improving the lives of citizens.

But significant concerns have been raised about AI’s potential to replace humans in the workforce, as agentic AI tech is further developed and topics of ‘onboarding AI’ become more mainstream.

Forrester vp and principal analyst Craig Le Clair recently discussed the issue of ‘AI employees’, explaining that AI-led layoffs are not far off and that he would expect job descriptions for an AI agent to be a reality by 2027.

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