By Jacob Onuha Nelson
Vegetable traders in Konyokonyo market complain of constantly rising prices and a shortage of fresh vegetable supplies in Juba city.
In an exclusive interview with our reporter, a vegetable vendor, said the prices keep increasing on daily basis, making their businesses difficult. The vendors also suffer shortage of supplies due to decrease in production.
“Even the Kale price has increased at the farm,” Suzan Keji Ladu Keji, one of the vegetable vendors, said
“Imagine, a kilogram of kale (Sukuma Wiki) is 6,000 SSP,” Suzan noted, adding that the cost of buying the vegetables from the farmers does not give vendors any profit margin when transport cost is included.
“You wake up at around 5:00 AM and walk for an hour to make sure you provide a meal for the kids,” explained the burden of the trade and perseverance they endure.
Meanwhile, for Lucy Iromo Anthony, who supplies kale, okra and wandering jew to Gudele 2 market, this year has come with different challenges for women with family responsibilities.
“The producers from whom we buy commodities from their farms are reason of this price increase,” Iromo stated.
Iromo links increase in vegetable prices to the farmers from whom they buy the produce.
“We have been victims of farmers who make our lives hard”, Iromo asserted, exclaiming, “Is it because we South Sudanese don’t know how to plant crops or what?”
Meanwhile, Dominic Korodo Basuba, a farmer, reacted to his customers’ accusations about commodity prices, arguing that depreciation of South Sudan Pound (SSP) against US Dollar, high taxation at marketplaces, poor road conditions are the causes.
“We increased commodity prices due to the US Dollar exchange rate to buy fertilizers for crop production from neighbouring countries,” Korodo explained to customers.
“Goods and services have gone higher because even farmers are suffering. We have a lot of expenses to pay for the land apart from taxes,” Dominic added.