The Lakes State government has ordered traders to reduce the prices of local food items to make them more affordable.
State Trade and Industry Minister Rebecca Enock Machuoc told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that an economic cluster meeting attended by the Rumbek town mayor resolved to lower the prices of local food products such as dura, groundnuts and meat.
She said the price of dura had been reduced from 50,000 South Sudanese pounds (SSP) to 40,000 SSP, while a kilogram of meat would now cost 23,000 SSP, down from 26,000 SSP.
“Food items such as dura and groundnuts are locally produced,” she said, adding that the price reduction would make them more affordable.
Machuoc said the factory that produces water is within Rumbek and thus the product should not be expensive.
The state minister advised residents to opt for local produce, which is also organic, instead of manufactured brands from Uganda.
Rumbek trader Deng Maker said they previously sold a basin of dura for 50,000 SSP because farmers had raised their prices.
He said the dura comes from villages where sellers charge high prices, and sometimes there is scarcity.
“Some farmers bring dura and other local items with the hope of buying medicines, and if you tell them that the government has reduced the prices, they do not agree,” he said.
Madom Machoth urged the government to establish a farm in Lakes State so that people can get employment and boost local food production.
“When people have farms, prices can fall,” he said.
The chairperson of the Rumbek Butchers Union, George Makuei, said they had agreed to reduce the price of a kilogram of meat to 23,000 SSP from 26,000 SSP but needed to renegotiate pricing because livestock costs had increased.
He said a bull could yield around 150 kilograms of meat during the rainy season, but that amount decreases in the dry season.