South Sudan Bureau of Standard (NBS) has reaffirmed its full capacity to standardise the country’s products as government plans to identify potential local goods for export to diversify the economy.

On Wednesday last week, the Ministry of Trade and Investment with technical support from the International Trade Centre (ITC) launched the first National Export and Investment Strategy project to demonstrate high-level government support to diversify South Sudan’s economy.

The project which is funded by the Afrexim Bank is aimed at enabling the stakeholders to discuss and identify potential products to kick start South Sudan’s non-oil export.

Speaking to the press after the launch of the project, NBS Chief Executive Officer Mary Gordon Murshal, said the youngest nation can certify local products for export.

“We have reached average capacity now. South Sudan is no longer a country without any machinery, without any experimental testing material, especially for analysis. We have a laboratory that meets the standard of the best machinery we have.”

“Because this is how Bureau of Standard is going to [be] sure that whatever goods we have to export meet the standards. So anything we export as a nation and does not meet the standards will not be accepted at the international market,” said Mary.

South Sudan current runs an oil-dependent economy despite being endowed with other natural resources such as gold, uranium, iron as well as forest and wildlife which have remained underutilised since independence.

Agak Achuil, First Undersecretary at the Ministry of Trade and Investment stressed the importance of the export and investment strategy in ensuring exploration of South Sudan’s natural resources to diversify the economy.

Mr Achuil pointed out that the project was a roadmap to invest, extract and process unexplored South Sudan’s resources.

“This means that [we] will be exporting these products more than the crude oil. We have been talking of diversification of our economy, and this is the beginning because we cannot diversify economy without even strategising,” said Achuil.

Previous trials

However, the ongoing implementation of the peace agreement and the subsequent ceasefire talks could be encouraging to invest in the country blessed with minerals.

In the past three years, the government has held several investment conferences to encourage foreign investors into the country but multiple layers of taxations and security scared off potential investors.

Recently, the National Revenue Authority (NRA) launched electronic tax remission to prevent multiple taxations, enhance transparency and build trust among taxpayers as well as increase revenue collection to fund government developmental projects.

“We have lots of resources that have not been developed. The fish –if we develop and process, we can export to European countries if we (South Sudanese) are serious” added Achuil.