Market prices for commodities in Bor town of Jonglei State have slightly decreased since the beginning of this month, local residents said.
As of Thursday, the price of a 50 kgs bag of maize flour dropped to 45,000 SSP from 48,000 SSP and 20 litres of cooking oil decreased by 2,000 SSP from 27,000 SSP two weeks ago, while 25 kgs of beans decreased from 40,000 to 34 000 SSP.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, several Bor residents applauded the business community for the price reductions, calling it a relief.
Aluel Kut, a resident of Bor, said she realized that there was a slight drop when she went for shopping last week.
“I learnt that the prices went down while I was shopping last week. For example, I bought a baby wiper for only 2,,000 SSP but it used to be 3000, while a tin of milk only cost me 23 000 SSP, not 26,000 as it was three weeks ago. I did not know the reason for the drop and I did not bother to inquire,” she said.
Aguer Deng, another resident, said, however, the decrease is insignificant, stating that commodity prices remain too high for an average citizen to afford.
For his part, the state chamber of commerce’s deputy secretary-general, Ayuen Kur, said that the drop is attributable to increased commodity supplies in the market.
“Two weeks ago, our prices were very high. Apart from the issue of inflation, we had run out of commodities in the market,” Kur said. “But now a lot of trucks have been arriving with goods, reducing our prices by 2,000 or even 5,000.”