War-Torn South Sudan's Traders Weigh New Risk: Kenya's Vote
- Commerce chamber concerned any unrest could disrupt imports
- Shipments coming via Kenya mainly fuel, wheat, materials
An employee holds a handful of corn at the Kaap Agri grain silo Klipheuwel, near Cape Town, South Africa, on Friday, Feb. 11, 2011. Corn advanced in South Africa, the continentÕs largest producer of the grain, as prices rose in the U.S., which competes for African export markets.
. Photographer: Nadine Hutton/BloombergTraders in war-torn, hunger-stricken South Sudan are stocking up on goods from neighboring Kenya in case unrest around next week’s elections there disrupts imports, the Chamber of Commerce said.
While most of South Sudan’s food supplies originate in Uganda, any upheaval in Kenya could affect goods such as wheat, building materials and spices that arrive via East Africa’s biggest port in Mombasa, the chamber’s secretary-general, Simon Akuei Deng, said by phone from the capital, Juba. The owners of the shipping containers are being advised to clear them before the Aug. 8 vote, he said.