{"id":49410,"date":"2026-11-03T15:35:52","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=49410"},"modified":"2026-11-03T15:35:52","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:35:52","slug":"chamber-of-commerce-warns-of-economic-strain-as-trade-costs-soar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/03\/chamber-of-commerce-warns-of-economic-strain-as-trade-costs-soar\/","title":{"rendered":"Chamber of Commerce warns of economic strain as trade costs soar"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sabri Dibaco<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The South Sudan National Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture has warned that high taxation, poor road infrastructure, insecurity and shortages of cash in commercial banks are worsening the country’s economic crisis and contributing to rising commodity prices.<\/p>\n

The Chamber\u2019s chairperson, Losidik Lakak Legge, said the multiple taxes imposed along major supply routes, including Mombasa, Nairobi, Uganda and Nimule, were increasing the cost of transporting goods into South Sudan, forcing traders to sell commodities at higher prices.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the No. 1 Citizen Daily newspaper in an exclusive about the economic challenges facing businesses, the chairperson, Losidik Lakak Legge, said the cost of moving goods from neighbouring countries and the limited availability of cash in banks were putting additional pressure on traders and consumers.<\/p>\n

He said the situation was making it difficult for businesses to maintain affordable prices, particularly as traders struggled to access money to restock their shops and meet daily operational expenses.<\/p>\n

The Chamber also identified poor road conditions and insecurity along major highways as major obstacles to trade, saying they increase transportation expenses and delay the delivery of essential commodities to markets.<\/p>\n

Lakak Legge called on the government to prioritise investment in agriculture and establish a petroleum refinery to reduce the country’s dependence on imported food and fuel.<\/p>\n

He said developing local agricultural production would help reduce reliance on imported commodities, while refining locally produced crude oil could lower the cost of fuel and support other economic activities.<\/p>\n

Lakak Legge further stressed the need for qualified economic experts to help the government design appropriate policies and strategies for strengthening the country’s economy.<\/p>\n

He said South Sudan needed professionals with the necessary economic knowledge to guide policy decisions, improve financial management and identify sustainable approaches to economic recovery.<\/p>\n

The chairperson also urged citizens to support the idea of holding elections, saying voters should elect responsible leaders who can be held accountable for their decisions, particularly when the economy is performing poorly.<\/p>\n

He said citizens should use their voting power to choose leaders capable of addressing the country’s economic challenges and promoting national development.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, traders in Juba have also expressed concern over rising operating costs, multiple municipal charges, poor roads, insecurity and the depreciation of the South Sudanese pound.<\/p>\n

A trader who requested anonymity told No. 1 Citizens Daily Newspaper that multiple charges imposed by Juba City Council were reducing the money available for business operations and reinvestment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are facing many charges from the city council, and it is becoming difficult for us to operate our businesses. We pay different fees, but our sales are not enough to cover all the expenses,\u201d the trader said.<\/p>\n

Abdullkarim Abdu, a trader in Munuki, said poor roads and insecurity along trading routes were increasing transportation costs and delaying the delivery of goods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bad roads and insecurity make it difficult to bring goods to the market on time. Transporters spend more money, and sometimes we face delays,\u201d Abdu said.<\/p>\n

He added that fluctuations in the exchange rate were making imported goods more expensive, leaving traders struggling to maintain prices while consumers continued to lose purchasing power.<\/p>\n

South Sudan’s economy continues to face significant challenges, including inflation, currency instability, limited cash circulation, high transportation costs and heavy dependence on imported commodities.<\/p>\n

The country’s reliance on imports from neighbouring countries makes local market prices vulnerable to changes in exchange rates, fuel prices, taxation and disruptions along regional trade routes.<\/p>\n

In February 2026, the Council of Ministers adopted an Economic Stabilisation and Structural Reforms Policy aimed at addressing inflation, currency instability, fiscal pressures and dependence on oil revenues.<\/p>\n

In October 2026, government officials also discussed the country’s liquidity crisis and limited cash circulation. Caretaker Finance Minister Athian Ding Athian said the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank were pursuing measures to strengthen fiscal and monetary discipline, stabilise prices and restore confidence in the local currency.<\/p>\n

Despite these efforts, traders and business representatives continue to call for practical economic reforms, improved infrastructure, predictable taxation and stronger security along major commercial highways.<\/p>\n

The Chamber of Commerce says investing in agriculture, developing local petroleum refining capacity and involving qualified economic experts in policymaking could help reduce import dependence and create a stronger foundation for sustainable economic growth.<\/p>\n

For traders and ordinary consumers, however, the immediate concern remains the rising cost of essential commodities and the growing difficulty of meeting daily needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sabri Dibaco The South Sudan National Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture has warned that high taxation, poor road infrastructure, insecurity and shortages of cash in commercial banks are worsening the country’s economic crisis and contributing to rising commodity prices. The Chamber\u2019s chairperson, Losidik Lakak Legge, said the multiple[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":49411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,84,85,80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-finance","category-markets","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Chamber-of-Commerce-warns-of-economic-strain-as-trade-costs-soar.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49412,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49410\/revisions\/49412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}