Sudanese Importers Chamber Critises Goods Ban and Vows to Challenge It in Courts of Law

Sudanhorizon – Nazik Shamam
The head of the Sudanese National Chamber of Importers, Al-Sadiq Jalal Al-Din, expressed his astonishment and bewilderment at the Prime Minister’s decision to ban the import of several goods. In a press statement, Monday), he wondered as to, “How can such disastrous, harmful, ill-considered, and irresponsible decisions be issued?”

Jalal Al-Din called on the Prime Minister to reconsider, reverse, and cancel the said decision.

The Chamber head also called for separating the Ministry of Trade from the Ministry of Industry, arguing that the current minister, while acting under the guise of industry, is implementing policies that harm foreign trade, increase smuggling and tax evasion, and unwittingly undermine Sudan’s bid to join the World Trade Organization, one of whose fundamental principles is the prohibition of import bans. Sudan, as an observer member, is committed to these principles.
The Chamber head noted that if the decision is not revoked, the National Chamber of Importers will pursue legal action to overturn it. This is not about serving the interests of the import sector, but rather the interests of the Sudanese economy and its citizens. He explained that the Prime Minister’s disastrous decision will plunge citizens into difficult living conditions for which he alone will bear responsibility.
Jalal al-Din argued that “The strange thing is that the Prime Minister had formed a working group on April 9, 2026, headed by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Jibril, and including ministers from the economic sector, the Bank of Sudan, Customs, Economic Security, and the Employers’ Federation, to study urgent and innovative solutions to boost exports and rationalize imports. The group held its inaugural meeting on April 14, 2026, and its second meeting on April 20, 2026, during which the National Chamber of Importers submitted a detailed memorandum outlining its opinion, supported by figures, regarding rationalizing imports, banning certain goods, or imposing tax or customs restrictions on all imported goods without exception.”
He added, “But the real surprise was that the Prime Minister issued Decree No. 74/2026 on April 12, 2026, banning the import of several goods, preempting the work of the team he himself had formed and completely excluding it from even being informed of the decision!” He added, “How strange! A decision cooked up in the dead of night that aims to stifle competition, encourage monopolies, create shortages of goods, widen the gap in the Sudanese market, and promote smuggling.”
He hinted that those behind the decision would reap enormous and exorbitant profits, but these would come at the expense of the average citizen and the state’s public revenues. The head of the chamber explained that addressing the exchange rate issue in its current form, by banning goods that do not significantly impact the trade balance and, in fact, generate revenues many times their value for the state, is extremely superficial. He noted that banning their import will cause a substantial deficit in the state budget and will only lead to further depreciation of the Sudanese pound. He emphasized that there is no trade deficit, pointing out that only the gold sector contradicts official figures and actually generates a trade surplus.
Jalal Al-Din described the decision as ludicrous and shameful, the product of minds that destroy rather than build, and of corrupt consciences that prioritize self-interest over the public good. He accused them of exploiting the depreciation of the Sudanese pound to pass disastrous decisions, decisions that are merely recycled and have yielded nothing but illusions, as happened in 2017. He added that they have now introduced a new innovation called the quota system, which opens the floodgates to corruption.

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