By Anak Dut

The Minister of Trade and Industry in Lakes State, Rebecca Enock Macuac, said the fluctuation in the dollar rate should not be an excuse for the traders to raise the prices of commodities in the market.

Rebecca said there is no need for the traders to increase the prices of locally produced commodities.

The minister confirmed issuing an order for the reduction of the prices of the local goods.

“Local food item prices should not be raised in an excuse of the rise in dollar rates, yet these produces are not exported from outside the state,” she said.

“We lowered the prices of soroghum, groundnuts, meat and water because these are produced within the state and for the posho flour that is exported I dont have a say about it,” Rebecca explained.

She urged the citizens to buy locally produced items as they are cheaper than the imported ones.

The minister further stated that the locally produced goods do not have weigh bills and taxes charged compared to the imported goods.

“In the law of Trade, for one to get profits in wholesale, you increase the price by 5% and retailers increase by 2%.”

Madom Macok, a trader who sells groundnuts in Rumbek, said they often buy one basin of groundnuts at SSP 37,000 from the village.

He said when they bring it to Rumbek, they now sell one basin at SSP 40,000 40,000.

“I only get a profit of SSP 3,000, and I have to pay the taxes to the government and rent shade where I sell my groundnuts,” Macok explained.

Meanwhile, Abraham Makuei, the chairperson for the Butchers Union in Rumbek, confirmed that they had been directed by the government to reduce the price of their meat.

He disclosed that previously, they used to sell a kilogram of meat at SSP 26,000, and they have reduced it to SSP 23,000.

 According to him, a cow in Rumbek costs SSP 3 million, which he said costs them a big lose

“We the butchers in Rumbek do not buy cows randomly, but first we have to do proper testing of the cow before slaughtering to ensure it is healthy and has no disease.”

The traders in the market are complaining of shortages of local produce in the market.