Woolworths charges R1,053 per kilogram for chilli beef biltong snapsticks

Woolworths charges R157.99 for a 150-gram bag of free-range chilli beef biltong snapsticks, equating to R1,053 per kilogram.

This was highlighted by Ciro De Siena, a well-known media personality, journalist, and former restaurant owner.

Biltong is synonymous with South Africa and is widely considered an essential snack for watching rugby and having a braai.

Its origins date back to a time before modern refrigeration, when preserving meat was important to ensure a stable protein supply.

Indigenous peoples of Southern Africa, like the Khoikhoi, preserved meat by curing it with salt and hanging it to dry.

Later, in the 1830s, Voortrekkers migrating from Cape Town into the interior of the country during the Great Trek adapted these methods.

They needed a lightweight, durable, and nutritious protein source that wouldn’t spoil on long journeys across the hot, rugged terrain.

They added vinegar and spices like coriander, creating the biltong we know today. It has also evolved beyond biltong, with derivatives like drywors and snapsticks.

Because it uses beef, biltong has always been expensive. However, it is not common to see prices above R1,000 per kilogram.

The post by De Siena raises the question of whether Woolworth’s biltong prices are high or comparable to those of similar products on the market.

Newsday gathered biltong prices from all major retailers. For this article, we only considered pre-packaged products to ensure a like-for-like comparison.

The most common size for packaged biltong was 100-200 grams. This is what the comparison focuses on to accurately compare prices.

Checkers had the lowest price on biltong. It’s 100g packaged sliced biltong, drywors, and snapsticks range from R50 to R70, cheaper than other retailers.

Makro and Woolworths were the most expensive, with the price of beef snapsticks in small portions approaching R1,000 per kilogram.

The analysis showed that Woolworths’ prices are not out of sync with those of other retailers such as Checkers, Pick n Pay, and Makro.

There is also the argument that Woolworths offers free-range beef products, which can command a premium price in many markets.

The comparison further revealed that it is more cost-effective to purchase biltong from the counter rather than in pre-packaged portions.

Pick n Pay’s butchery beef biltong, for example, costs R355.99 per kilogram. This is significantly cheaper than the packaged biltong at R666.60 per kilogram.

Buying larger portions is also a good idea. At Fleisherei, a 1-kilogram pack of Bosveld Dry Wors costs R379.99, half the per-kilogram price of smaller packages.

Biltong price comparison: Woolworths, Makro, Checkers, and Pick n Pay

The table below shows the price of beef biltong, drywors, and snapsticks from Woolworths, Makro, Checkers, and Pick n Pay.

Retailer	Product	Grams	Price	Price per kilogram
Makro	Beef snapsticks	120	R119.00	R991.67
Woolworths	Beef snapsticks	150	R147.99	R986.60
Woolworths	Sliced beef biltong	150	R129.99	R866.60
Makro	Sliced beef biltong	150	R119.00	R793.33
Makro	Beef droewors	150	R119.00	R793.33
Woolworths	Beef droewors	150	R109.99	R733.27
Checkers	Beef snapsticks	100	R70.00	R700.00
Pick n Pay	Sliced beef biltong	150	R99.99	R666.60
Pick n Pay	Beef droewors	150	R99.99	R666.60
Checkers	Sliced beef biltong	100	R50.00	R500.00
Checkers	Beef droewors	100	R50.00	R500.00