December 2013 violence in South Sudan had killed thousands and displaced more than 900,000 people. It has also led to a serious deterioration in the food security situation, and some 3.7 million people are at high risk of food insecurity in the coming year. Food partners have so far reached about 865,000 people under the emergency operation between January and April 2014 with most of the food being distributed in-kind.
Oxfam decided to implement a market analysis in Juba, the target being the IDPs living in the UN House IDP camp. The objectives of this market analysis were for Oxfam to explore alternatives to in-kind food aid in its different areas of interventions and to create a market baseline for three critical market systems, including red sorghum, maize flour and soap.
The vast majority of maize flour and red sorghum moving through Juba market normally comes from Uganda by road, while a small portion comes from the South Sudanese production hubs of Yei and Western Equatoria. The crisis in South Sudan has severely impacted the maize flour and red sorghum market chains in Juba. Flows to the States (which use to represent 60 to 70% of the volume of trade) have almost completely stopped, mostly because of insecurity along transport routes and at former delivery hubs. At the same time, demand for maize flour and red sorghum has plummeted in Juba and elsewhere because of the massive displacement of the population, and trade volumes have decreased accordingly.
