Yei Market. (Photo: FCA)

The Commissioner of Yei River County in Central Equatoria State said on Sunday market prices have sharply increased in recent weeks leaving local communities barely able to afford essential commodities.

Agrey Cyrus Kanyikwa said the price of maize, which is the staple food in the area, has shot up on several occasions in the last six months due to high consumption demand caused by the return of thousands of South Sudanese from refugees’ camps.

According to him, one bucket of maize used to cost only SSP1,500 in April 2023, before jumping to SSP11,500 in July.

He further said the prices dropped to 2,500 pounds at the end of July before rising to 4,500 pounds in October this year.

Speaking to Eye Radio, Kanyikwa blames the skyrocketing prices on the increase in consumption due to arrival of returnees from neighboring Uganda.

“The cause of the raise from 2,500 t0 4,500 is the shortage in the storage, the harvest was well but there has been an increase in the population the population of Returnees from the 31^st of March to the end of August,” he said.

“It has increased rapidly, most of the people have returned from Uganda, about 63% of people in the Refugee camps have already returned so that have increased the number of people consuming.”

The commissioner also said he fears that traders will increase commodity prices after civil servants receive their salaries.

“Having so many notes of money in the hands of the people are not for our good. It is a threat itself because the moment these civil servants and these military men in uniform receive their salaries, they are going to clean the market and buy everything in the market.”

“The markets are going to be left empty so the traders will get that money and buy food with new prices, and they are not going to sale in the same prices because the demand force is greater than the supply.”