As a Result of Sudan’s Currency Depreciation, 35% Hikes in Food Prices

Economy
Sudanese vendors sell vegetables in the central market of Khartoum on June 10, 2019, as most of the shops and businesses remained shut. - Residents generally stayed indoors in the Sudanese capital on June 11 as a nationwide civil disobedience campaign aimed at pressuring the military rulers entered a third day. (Photo by Ashraf SHAZLY / AFP) (Photo credit should read ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty Images)

Sudanhorizon – Nazik Shamam
Prices of consumer goods in Sudanese markets moved up by approximately 35% last week, driven by a sharp decline in the value of rate of exchange of the Sudanese pound against the dollar and other foreign currencies.
Ahmed Dahy, a wholesaler in the Omdurman market, told Sudanhorizon that prices rose significantly after the Eid al-Adha holiday, coinciding with the dollar’s rise in the parallel market.
He added that purchasing activity has decreased by at least 20% due to the widening gap between wages and the cost of living, and the large number of citizens who have left the labor market following the war.
Dahy explained that some traders converted their savings into foreign currency and withdrew from the market, given the rising financial obligations and weak demand. He predicted that the wave of inflation would continue under the current economic conditions.
The price of a 50-kilogram sack of sugar rose from 150,000 Sudanese pounds to 204,000 pounds, while a 36-pound container of oil jumped from 115,000 pounds to 180,000 pounds.
The price of peanut oil jerry cane increased from 150,000 pounds to 230,000 pounds, and a carton of tomato paste reached 70,000 pounds, up from 54,000 pounds.
The price of a 25-kilogram sack of flour also surged to 72,000 pounds from 48,000 pounds.
The Sudanese pound continues its decline despite government measures to stabilize it, including a ban in April on the import of 46 commodities aimed at reducing demand for foreign currency.

The Sudanese economy has suffered from structural imbalances since the outbreak of the current war in April 2013, characterized by declining revenues, rising expenditures, and a shortage of foreign currency reserves.

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