Basic commodity prices continue to rise in Sudan

People in eastern Sudan and Darfur complain about further price rises for basic commodities. The inflation rate of February amounts to almost 13 percent. The US Dollar is trading on the black market in Khartoum for SDG12.10.

People in eastern Sudan and Darfur complain about further price rises for basic commodities. The inflation rate of February amounts to almost 13 percent. The US Dollar is trading on the black market in Khartoum for SDG12.10.

“The price of bread in Port Sudan is soaring because of the ongoing lack of flour,” a listener complained to Radio Dabanga. “We still have to wait in long queues to buy a few pieces of bread.”

He added that the prices of vegetables, “in particular tomatoes”, and charcoal are sky-rocketing as well, although the goods are widely available.

“Traders continue to demand more money after the authorities imposed new taxes on these products,” he added, and wondered how people will survive in the near future.

South Darfur

A number of bakeries in the South Darfur capital Nyala in South Darfur have raised a complaint to the state parliament after a number of distribution agencies increased the price of flour.

“We now have to pay SDG240 ($40) for a 50kg sack of flour, while the authorities recently set the price at SDG228 ($37),” a baker told this station.

The chairman of the parliamentarian economic committee, Abdelrahman Bashir, said they had summoned four distribution agents in Nyala about the matter. He vowed “to check all the extra amounts taken by the flour agents, and return the money to the Ministry of Finance”.

Inflation rate

On Tuesday, the Sudanese Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the inflation rate in February increased to 12.94 percent, compared to 12.4 percent in January, owing to an increase in the prices of basic consumer goods.

Economic analyst Abdelhadi Ibrahim Abdallah told Radio Dabanga on Wednesday that issuing extra bank notes, the rising production costs, and the scarcity of consumer goods all lead to the prices rises.

The US Dollar, fixed by the Central Bank of Sudan a rate of SDG6,0771, currently trades between SDG12.05-12.10 on the black market in Khartoum, while the Saudi Riyal, officially rated at SDG1,6212, is sold between SDG3.15-3.20.