East African Business Week

KIGALI, RWANDA -- Rwanda has completed comprehensive studies on South Sudan's agriculture sector in a bid to export its vegetables, roots, and tubers in Juba, the capital city of the newest nation in the world.
This is the second study conducted on the regional produce markets by the Land Husbandry Water project (LWH) under Rwanda's Agriculture Ministry. The first study was done three months ago on DR Congo's potential for Rwandan exports especially vegetables.
Mr. Hashim Mulangwa,  one of the consultants assigned to carry out research on potential of South Sudan market for Rwanda,  told agriculture experts and traders while presenting their findings , that there are  both opportunities and challenges in the Juba market.
He added that Rwanda does not have the advantage of proximity as Uganda and Kenya to South Sudan and that the country can benefit if they focus on quality of their produce.
Mulangwa said Ugandans today dominate the produce market in South Sudan but that the demand still exists and there is a gap that Rwandans can fill.
Mr. Leonard Mungarulire, a consultant with Ntareinsights, a Rwandan based group said despite several risks of doing business in South Sudan, Rwandans should look out for opportunities.
"What we need is to focus on quality of our produce, which does not take rocket science to tell our farmers to adhere to it if we are to get leverage in the market," Mungarulire explained.
The consultants said that all challenges of trade between Rwanda and South Sudan such as lack of storage facilities, ware houses in the new country and several check points especially between Nimule and Juba(148km) can be solved through high level negotiations within the East Africa Community (EAC).
The biggest headache for traders is the time it takes one to move between Nimule and Juba. The 148 kilometres journey takes eight hours.