(JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN) – A fuel shortage in Juba has disrupted businesses across the South Sudanese capital, with residents unable to operate vehicles, trucks and motorcycles as supplies run dry at filling stations, while prices climb sharply in both formal and informal markets.
The crisis has deepened in October, with the state oil firm Nilepet unable to supply enough diesel and petrol to fuel stations.
According to the World Food Programme’s market monitor covering 28th September to 4th October 2026, fuel prices stayed high and mostly stable week on week. However, limited supply pushed prices up 25% in Bentiu and Rubkona.
The fuel shortage is rooted in the country’s broader economic crisis.
South Sudan’s oil exports, which traditionally account for about 90% of GDP, were severely disrupted after a key pipeline in neighbouring Sudan was damaged in February.
The pipeline rupture cut exports of Nile blend and Dar blend crude, leaving only around 30% to 35% of oil flowing.
With oil revenues collapsing, the South Sudanese pound has weakened sharply.
On the parallel market, the exchange rate has risen above SSP 750,000 to one US dollar in Juba, with higher rates reported in some states, according to residents who spoke to Amnon Business Report.
The official rate stood at 5,667 SSP per dollar on 7th October, down 25.3% over the past 12 months.
The currency depreciation has made imported fuel increasingly expensive.
In Juba, the price of diesel rose from around SSP 14,500 to SSP 18,500 per litre within 24 hours in one instance, forcing some commuters to walk because they could no longer afford transport costs.
In the parallel market, fuel has been quoted as high as SSP 25,833 per litre, according to a REACH assessment.
Some residents told media they are not able to go about their businesses because it is difficult to get fuel for their cars and boda bodas.
A motorist, who requested anonymity, said he has not gone to work for two days because he has been lining up at a filling station.
“It’s a very big problem to us. I’m not going to go to work because I have no fuel,” he said.
Truck drivers also complained that the fuel shortage in Juba has caused them to increase the rental fees of their trucks.
One of them said he is getting fuel from the black market at a price five times that of the pump.
Some boda boda operators say they have stopped the business and parked their motorcycles.
They did so because they cannot afford to buy a one and a half litre bottle of fuel.
The crisis extends beyond the capital.
Residents in Wau reported that fuel stations had remained closed, forcing motorists to buy fuel in bottles at much higher prices.
One caller said a small bottle of fuel costs SSP 30,000 and a big one costs SSP 50,000, while some people have resorted to walking because of the high cost of fuel.
The fuel shortage has also triggered electricity rationing in Juba.
The Juba Electric Distribution Company announced a temporary power rationing schedule from 15th September to 15th October 2026 due to a major overhaul of the power plant.
Some managers of refilling stations say they are not receiving the fuel being distributed by Nilepet.
A deputy fuel station manager said Nile Petroleum Company has clarified that it cannot supply all of the companies with diesel and petrol.
Officials at Nilepet are yet to comment on the current shortage.
But in a previous interview, the managing director, Machar Achiek, said something was wrong in the supervision of fuel distribution.
He said there was nothing he could do if agencies entrusted with the supervision do not do their part.
The effects of the fuel crisis ripple through every part of the economy.
According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, fuel prices in many South Sudanese markets were between 45% and 105% higher in May 2026 than they had been just three months earlier.
As transport costs increased, traders passed those expenses on to consumers, contributing to rising food prices.
A restaurant worker in Juba described the squeeze.
“Before, I used to spend about 5,000 South Sudanese pounds to come to work. Now I pay 10,000.”
By the end of each working day, she spends about 20,000 SSP simply travelling between home and work.
The South Sudan Business Union has warned that a shortage of dollars in the market could lead to further increases in fuel prices, as importers need foreign currency to bring in supplies.
