The South Sudanese Civil War, which started in December 2013, undermined economic development achieved since independence, making humanitarian work difficult to conduct within the country.

There are teak plantations located at Kegulu; the other, oldest planted forest reserves are Kawale, Lijo, Loka West, and Nuni.

Some of the agricultural produce include cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, maize, simsim, bananas, sweet potatoes, and sesame.

[17] In recent years, a significant amount of foreign-based oil drilling has begun in South Sudan, raising the land's geopolitical profile.

These come at a high transportation cost which, coupled with inflation, has caused food prices to rise dramatically in South Sudan.

According to Elizabeth Manoa Majok, undersecretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment, the government of South Sudan has made food production a top priority.

[20] South Sudan hopes to attract agricultural investors from Gulf Arab states, Israel, China, the Netherlands and fellow African countries in order to increase production of basic food items such as sugar, rice, cereals and oilseeds, livestock as well as cotton.

[23] In June 2011, the vice-president of South Sudan, Riek Machar Teny, announced a plan to mobilize $500 billion of foreign investment in the first five years of independence.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for example, is working with Citibank, the IFC, the Corporate Council on Africa, and others to help the country market its resources and attract private capital in key sectors, including agriculture.

[20] This investment is intended to stimulate rural development and generate employment opportunities, increase food productivity, provide government institutions with new and sustainable sources of revenue, and help to diversify the economy.

[25] A Ugandan conglomerate called the Madhvani Group has also entered into a preliminary agreement with the government of South Soudan to revitalize a government-owned sugar plantation and processing facility in Mangala Payam.

[20] Concerns about foreign exploitation has led organizations such as OI and NPA to urge a moratorium on new land deals until a better framework is established.

The nation has some telecommunications service through operators like MTN Group (formerly known as Investcom), but currently lacks the infrastructure to offer high speed Internet connections.

[27] In March 2015, South Sudan's minister for telecommunications and postal services revealed plans for the government to lay 1,600 kilometers of fiber-optic cable across the country within two years.

[29] Inaugural Finance Minister David Deng Athorbie announced the creation of the South Sudanese pound to go into effect a week after independence.

Reuters considered South Sudan the likeliest candidate for EAC expansion in the short term,[36] and an article in Tanzanian daily The Citizen that reported East African Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdirahin Haithar Abdi said South Sudan was "free to join the EAC" asserted that analysts believe the country will soon become a full member of the regional body.

[39] The application was initially deferred by the EAC in December 2012,[40] however incidents with Ugandan boda-boda operators in South Sudan have created political tension and may delay the process.

[41] In December 2012, Tanzania officially agreed to South Sudan's bid to join the EAC, clearing the way for the world's newest state to become the regional bloc's sixth member.

At the 14th Ordinary Summit held in Nairobi in 2012, EAC heads of state approved the verification report that was presented by the Council of Ministers, then directed it to start the negotiation process with South Sudan.

[46] South Sudan was eventually approved for membership in East African Community in March 2016,[47] and formally acceded with the signature of the treaty in April 2016.