South Sudanese farmers producing vegetables and fruits have been urged to increase productivity and make sure they meet international standards in order to compete internationally.
Speaking on Saturday during the closure of the Fruits and Vegetables Trade Fair at Nyakuron Cultural Center in Juba, Stephen Doctor, the Director General of External Trade at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said it is time local farmers and traders, especially those dealing on the sales of vegetables and fruits to aim at meeting the international standards.
“We need you to specialize and put your things in order. We need quality of the products because in trade, quality is very important, and packaging is very important,” he said.
The official emphasized that for any trader to aim at export, they must focus on those determinants. “Now, with these fruits and vegetables in the market, we want to be there on a regular basis. Continue to produce and introduce them in the market. If you continue to introduce your products in the market with this quality, with some innovation for packaging and handling, you will monopolize the market,” he said.
Several traders, however, cited insecurity and lack of enough capital as major challenges hindering their work.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Monday Lidiya, a young trader who owns a fruits and vegetables shop at Customs Market, said insecurity is one of the challenges affecting her business, especially when travelling to buy fruits from local producers.
“In case you want those fruits, and you inform them to bring them, insecurity can disturb you. So you can sometimes close the shop for two to three days because the road is not good,” she said.
Betty Um-Juma, another trader, said: “Nowadays in the market, the prices of things are very high. The exchange rate of the US dollar is high. We find challenges in buying things.”
For his part, Bul John, an agricultural advisor at the International Trade Center (ITC), said the aim of conducting the fruits and vegetables trade fair is to connect the local producers with traders and hotel owners.
John revealed that the idea is to encourage the traders to buy from the local farmers. “The main idea is to link the producers to the consumers who can be able to buy from them. We have invited traders. We have invited embassies to come and meet with the local producers,” he said.
He said the International Trade Centre is also working to empower the local producers by building their capacity. “The farmers have mentioned a lot of challenges, but we are thinking of building their capacity so that they can increase their productivity,” he concluded.