Some residents of the South Sudanese capital Juba have expressed concern over high commodity prices in the markets, despite the local currency making significant gains and remaining stable against the US dollar.
They appeal to the concerned authorities to intervene and regulate the market prices by the new exchange rate, while traders say they maintain high prices to avoid losses since the country's economy is unpredictable.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, a Juba resident who identified herself only as Mama Joan said prices of imported items such as sugar, cooking oil, and flour among others, remain high despite local currency gains.
“I don't know what shall we do about this [situation] if the government doesn’t want to regulate prices in the market," she lamented.
Another Juba resident Inusa Besencio Morbe also wondered why the prices of locally produced goods like meat, vegetables, and water remain high.
“One kilogram of meat is now sold at 3,000 SSP and when you ask why traders will tell you that the dollar is high despite the drop in the dollar rate but yet the prices remain high. I don’t why?” Morbe asked.
The residents appeal to the government authorities to regulate the prices in the market, especially for basic food commodities, so that locals can afford a meal or two.
A trader who identified himself only as Daniel in the popular Konyo-Konyo market in Juba, said prices of commercial goods are not fixed due to the instability of the dollar, explaining that they buy dollars from the black market to provide commercial goods in the markets.
"Any cash that we got in our hands, we don’t keep it. We buy dollars in the black market and provide commodities. This is what is happening," Daniel added.
Abdulaziz Mohammed, also a trader who sells clothes in the Konyo-Konyo market, said they keep prices high because they are afraid of making losses by reducing prices.
“We used to sell ladies’ pants at 8,000 or 7,000SSP. But nowadays we sell it at 6,000 or 6,500SSP because there is a drop in the exchange rate," Mohammed said.
Jacob Lado, a dollar black market dealer says the dollar rate has remained stable at 40,000 SSP for 100 USD in the last three weeks. However, he called on the Central Bank of South Sudan to inject more hard currency into the market to further reduce prices.
For his part, the head of the Central Equatoria State Chamber of Commerce Robert Pitia says the unpredictability of the dollar makes traders fear incurring losses by reducing prices.
He called on the central bank to work on stabilizing the US dollar, a move he says will instill confidence in traders and make them reduce prices.
Economist William Moro says, “Prices are considered a successful step if they are monitored and evaluated by the national economic institutions.”