As part of efforts to provide a helping hand to world's youngest nation which is facing a humanitarian crisis, China has donated 1,700 tonnes of rice to South Sudan.

South Sudan is suffering a food shortage due to poor crop production, with United Nations (UN) agencies putting the cereal deficit this year in the country at 381,000 tonnes, up 53 percent from a year earlier.

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Humanitarian efforts in South Sudan have been largely halted since civil conflict began in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir fell out with his former deputy Riek Machar, who later formed a rebel force. A recent report issued by UN agencies warns that food insecurity has spread to areas previously considered "relatively stable" in South Sudan with food prices soaring.

Cereal prices in South Sudan have shot up nearly five-fold since early last year, making it increasingly difficult for people to get enough to eat, according to a new study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). The two UN agencies said that the increasing prices are caused by conflict and unfavourable rains.

The statement also highlighted that the soaring cereal prices are driven by a combination of the sharp devaluation of the local currency and higher transport costs. The lack of traders' access to dollars also makes it difficult for them to import food.

"The number of wholesale traders present in main markets and the level of their food stock have steadily declined throughout the year as a consequence of insecurity, low purchasing power of consumers and difficult access to foreign exchange to buy imports," the report said.

In terms of transportation, links between cereal-producing areas - mostly in the Equatoria and Bahr el-Ghazal states - and main markets have become "extremely difficult" due to heightened insecurity, a proliferation of roadblocks and exorbitant ad hoc taxes levied on commercial transporters along major trade routes, according to the research.

TagsSouth Sudan, china, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), food security