Jonglei State fishermen have raised the prices of both dry and fresh fish in Bor markets due to the increase in fuel prices, which makes it more expensive to transport the fish to market using motorboats.
One of the fishermen told Radio Tamazuj that he uses a lot of petrol to catch his fish from Ziam Ziam fishing site. Another fisherman from Bor South, Majur Maker, confirmed he used to sell his catch at lower prices before the fuel problem.
“I used to sell my fish at 35 SSP to 50 SSP depending to the size of the fish the customer demands,” he said while selling his fishes to the small retailers who then raise the prices later to gain profits.
Nyibol Wal, a small retailer who buys at least 10-15 fishes a day said the issue of fuel is a major complaint of those who transport fish from the fishing sites to the market. She was hopeful that the prices will reduce if the problem of fuel is addressed.
“We don’t blame the fishermen for the prices because the owners of the boats tell them their prices and if they are requested to reduce the prices, they say it is not them but the limited fuel sellers who raise their prices hence affecting the prices of fish,” Wal explained.
As of Wednesday at the Bor fish market located at the riverbank, a bigger fish of one and half kilo to two kilos is 80 SSP, the price of the smallest fish in the market is 35 SSP to 40 SSP.
There are no petrol stations operating in Bor currently, making the little petrol left in stores very expensive. The little which is being sold now is measured in water bottles.
A big bottle of fuel now can cost as much as 80 SSP.