Families in Abyei are benefitting from a big cut in the price of sorghum as the harvest begins, but traders fear there could still be a shortage in coming months owing to a small crop this year, Abyei Today reported.

The price of a malwa of sorghum has fallen by 60% since last week. Individual sorghum farmers now charge 15ssp for a malwa; traders in shops charge 20ssp. Nyandoot Deng Garang, 30, told Abyei Today in Agok that the new prices would help her save money. She also said it would help families improve their food security, as they could buy in supplies now to store for the future.

A sorghum trader in Aniet, Kuany Mawien, explained that prices had fallen as markets became flooded with sorghum. He also said some people had stopped buying sorghum when it was expensive, and had turned to wild foods instead. But he said the harvest had been poor, and predicted a sorghum shortage from November onwards.

In other news, dozens of traders were fined by the health authority of Agok for selling out-of-date food. Inspectors seized tens of kilograms of goods which were beyond their expiry date from shops in Aniet market. The investigation was in response to complaints from consumers.