By Hou Akot Hou
Residents of Aweil town, Northern Bahr El Ghazal state of South Sudan, have raised concerns over meat price hike, as butchers now sell a kilo at over 3,000 South Sudanese pounds, from SSP 2,500, in April.
The increase comes in the wake of high inflation coupled with the Sudan crisis.
One of the residents, Maria Adut, a meat lover, told this outlet Wednesday that they have been taken aback at the prices of meat that are becoming unaffordable for the poor.
She said a kilo of beef was sold at 2,500 SSP, but now it has hiked to over 3,000 SSP.
“The meat without bone was sold at SSP 2,500, but now it is SSP 3,000 plus, and it equally applies to cow meat,” she said.
“We ask ourselves what the problem is since these goods are not imported from anywhere.”
According to Adut, “butchers tell us their own versions that the cows and goats are being exported out of the state up to Juba, and that is why they have increased the prices of per kilos”.
She lamented that they are wondering how to make a living as some of them have been using petty economic means to earn a living, such as cooking in the local restaurants.
Ms. Adut added that the prices of a kilo of mutton and beef in Aweil town differ from those in the counties, blaming the traders who buy animals at cheap prices, and yet sell meat at high prices.
Meanwhile, Simon Dut Garang, cautioned the government against giving licenses to those who buy cows in large numbers and transport them with trucks to Juba, saying the state is likely to run out of cattle.
“If the government allows the cattle to be driven away, on whom citizens do depend?” he questioned.
HOWEVER, the Minister of Local Government, Deng Liai Bak, acknowledged the hardship that people are going through and equally blamed meat price increment on traders who ferry animals out of the state.
“Yes, people transport cows and goats by truck to other states, particularly Juba; this contributes to the price fluctuation of meat,” he noted, but without focus on free market economy, prevailing in the country.
He said that in a meeting in March, the Ministers of Finance and Animal Resources, respectively, resolved that traders can buy and sell animals anywhere they wish.
“The ministers reportedly gave a go-ahead so that any willing person could buy cows and goats to transport, but now it is a different story,” Minister Liai bak lamented.
He is worried that some youth may not even marry as heifers are reaching millions of pounds due to high market demand for cattle from businesspeople who take animals away, while increasing the prices.
The Minister also blamed the economic crisis that the state is going through on war in Sudan, saying they would discuss it in the next council of ministers’ meeting, to get a remedy for the people’s concerns.
In Aweil, all auctions or kraals can be seen full of traders taking bunches of goats and cows, cramming them into trucks, and whisking them away to Juba where they get either dollars or pounds.