Sudanese Memory: Our Agricultural Exports – The Forgotten Story (2–2)

Mohamed El Sheikh Hussein
Although earnings from Sudan’s agricultural exports, both crop and livestock, do not constitute a particularly large share of the country’s foreign currency revenues, the deteriorating state of the national economy compels us to exert greater effort in promoting exports and reviving the old, forgotten narrative known as export diversification. What follows is the second and final part of this prescription for recovery.
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The study prepared by the Integrated Framework Programme Focal Point at the World Trade Affairs Commission, entitled “Trade Integration Diagnostic Study for the Integrated Framework Programme”, concluded that Sudan’s customs administration was being managed competently and with a high degree of professional efficiency, utilising advanced tools and systems. This underscores the need for substantial investment in staff development and training to ensure integrated customs operations nationwide.
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The study emphasised that high-quality backbone services, such as financial services and telecommunications, are essential for competitiveness in global markets. Sudan currently possesses these services, largely through private-sector participation, which necessitates the removal of all restrictions on banking, telecommunications and energy services.
Such a liberalised approach would facilitate the rapid development of these sectors.
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Sudan has opportunities for technology transfer in financial services, owing to recent partnerships in the banking sector.
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The Trade Integration Diagnostic Study addresses the strategic issue of developing a pro-poor, peace-supporting trade strategy to improve the livelihoods of the poor.
It advocates boosting non-oil exports by revitalising traditional exports and developing new export products.
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Key requirements include securing modern markets for existing exports, moving further up value chains towards greater value addition, and developing new agricultural and industrial exports.
Several prerequisites are already present, including:
Macroeconomic stability;
A long history of successful agricultural exports;
Peace and security that would facilitate the restoration of previous trade linkages.
These factors can provide a foundation for export-led growth.
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Implementing such a strategy requires additional measures in four areas:
Increasing productivity;
Reducing trade costs;
Rationalising incentive systems;
Improving export development institutions and trade policies.
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The study places considerable emphasis on formulating a longer-term agricultural trade strategy. Such a strategy would facilitate an audit aligned with the institutional structures of Sudan’s three agricultural systems:
Traditional rain-fed agriculture;
Semi-mechanised rain-fed agriculture;
Irrigated agriculture.
This would help maximise the rural sector’s contribution to export growth and poverty reduction.
The study further highlights the importance of examining landholding size, land tenure systems, access to finance and banking services, and other structural factors that encourage farmers and pastoralists to invest in productivity-enhancing technologies, respond to market incentives and produce for export markets.
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The study concludes that reforms implemented in the Gezira Scheme could provide a useful model for broader agricultural reform.
It recommends that the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) and its technical assistance arm, TAF, provide the technical support and funding necessary to evaluate these factors.
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Regarding industrial productivity, the study stresses the need for access to capital in order to modernise machinery and improve vocational training programmes capable of addressing shortages of skilled labour.
Specific recommendations include:
Establishing and developing training centres for leather industries, textiles, meat processing and other sectors;
Promoting joint ventures with multinational corporations as a means of introducing modern technologies and strengthening links with international buyers and suppliers;
Securing support from donors and international organisations such as UNIDO, which is considered essential for vocational training programmes.
In the longer term, the education system should be reviewed to incorporate an integrated vocational training strategy that meets industrial labour requirements and encourages industrial linkages by developing small and medium-sized enterprises.
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Reducing the cost of accessing global markets constitutes the second major priority.
The overall implementation plan for reducing cross-border trade costs includes:
Establishing a modern, integrated national customs administration.
This would require a comprehensive programme for recruiting, training and equipping customs personnel.
Several international organisations, including FIAS, the IMF, and UNCTAD, have already identified the reforms required to introduce risk-based customs clearance systems nationwide, strengthen post-clearance audit capabilities, and integrate these requirements into customs operations.
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The study also highlights the importance of:
Supporting and developing a globally integrated trade logistics services industry;
Encouraging the private sector to seek technical assistance from FIATA to develop local capacity in freight forwarding systems;
Expanding the presence of international banks, which can facilitate access to global trade logistics and financial services.
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The study urges the development of local capacity to comply with internationally recognised food, plant and animal health standards.
For the private sector, this requires implementing sound management practices.
For the public sector, it calls for strengthening Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) capabilities at the state government level, ensuring coordination with federal institutions and eliminating overlapping mandates among agencies responsible for health and phytosanitary measures.
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The study also recommends reducing tariffs and fees at Port Sudan and conducting a Time Release Study in cooperation with the World Customs Organization (WCO) to identify the principal causes of delays.
It advocates establishing a single-window system for all customs clearance procedures, which would reduce delays and simplify the multiple charges imposed by various agencies involved in cargo clearance.
The study further argues that implementing reforms in the Port Sudan container terminal should involve granting operational opportunities to the private sector. This could help align charges more closely with actual service costs and reduce port fees.
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The study strongly supports rationalising the incentive system, noting that the number, level and unpredictability of taxes can weaken export incentives and increase the overall cost of doing business in Sudan.
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It argues that greater harmonisation of taxes, charges and fees across all levels of government would help reduce dependence on oil revenues.
Such harmonisation would also enable trade policies that balance low-value and high-value production without unfairly favouring one sector over another.
The study cites the example of leather producers and leather-processing industries versus exporters of raw hides. This approach would encourage Sudanese producers to make decisions based on the comparative advantages available at each stage of the value chain.
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The study believes that simplifying the tax system would reduce administrative costs and increase revenue collection.
Proposed measures include:
Establishing a single collection window;
Eliminating all taxes other than customs duties, with any remaining fees charged strictly on a cost-recovery basis;
Abolishing local taxes imposed on inter-state trade;
Consolidating customs-related charges.
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As part of annual budget preparation, the study recommends compiling a comprehensive inventory of all taxes, fees and charges, while prohibiting unauthorised authorities from imposing new taxes, payments or levies.
There is also a need for a federal review of revenue and expenditure policies, clearly defining the powers of different levels of government in order to achieve greater national integration and stronger integration with the global economy.
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The study recommends introducing greater consistency and predictability across sectors in trade policy by removing export restrictions that undermine the competitiveness of Sudanese exports.
Examples include:
Continued forms of monopoly in gum arabic exports;
Export taxes on raw hides;
Occasional restrictions on sorghum exports.
Removing such obstacles would increase producers’ incomes.
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The study argues that taxes, import tariffs and pricing policies that favour one product over another constitute harmful discrimination against exports from sectors that do not enjoy similar advantages.
It cites examples such as interventions that raise domestic sugar prices and measures that restrict access to important inputs for the local textile and vegetable oil industries.
Gradual reductions in customs tariffs, coupled with the elimination of exceptional exemptions, would improve economic efficiency while maintaining the necessary customs revenue base.

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