Citizens and traders in the capital of South Sudan’s Upper Nile State say that goods are very expensive in the market after recent fighting in the state’s north.
Yahia Saideen, representative of the Malakal trade chamber, said bad roads have added to the price of goods. “We are getting goods from Renk in the north of the state, and Kaka Tijaria, and Melut, and sometimes from the road of Falluj,” he said.
Asked about the high prices he commented, “When you buy something pricy, it is better than not having the option to buy it at all.”
Khamis, another trader at the market, said the prices were very expensive because traders were afraid to make the trip to Malakal.
“Right now people are afraid,” he said. He referred to the recent clashes in Renk County as having disrupted trade between Sudan and Upper Nile State.
For his part, the mayor of Malakal acknowledged the high prices, saying they were the result of the lack of legal and safe routes by which goods can reach Malakal.
But he stressed that the situation in Malakal was safe. “The traders of Malakal are bringing goods from the northern counties like Renk and Melut… the market now is open, there is no problem. It is a free market,” he told Radio Tamazuj.
File photo: A trader sells books at the Malakal PoC site, 5 Sept. 2014 (UNMISS)