2024-04-14 22:08:12
One year ago, on April 15, 2023, the crisis in Sudan began. Today, the traditional banking system no longer works and inflation has exceeded 80% in 2023, according to the African Development Bank. The Sudanese pound lost half its value and the unemployment rate exploded. After a year of looting, fighting and destruction, all sectors of the economy are undermined.
The Gezira region is traditionally a very profitable cotton production area. But above all it is the breadbasket of the country. “ The war is massively hampering cereal production, which normally constitutes two-thirds of that consumed in Sudan, explains Anette Hoffmann, research manager for the Dutch think tank Clingendael. Ongoing fighting is preventing farmers in the main production areas of Darfur, Kordofan and Gezira from cultivating or harvesting crops. As a result, as recent FAO data shows, the latest cereal harvest was 40% lower than the national average. »
A drop in production which was offset by an intense increase in imports and therefore prices, Anette Hoffmann was also able to note: “ Lhe current crisis is largely financial, there is still food, stocks are not yet exhausted. »
Also read: A year of war in Sudan: “returnees” settle in Renk, South Sudan
A financial crisis and not availability
Oil, onions, lentils and others are still available on the stalls, but at exorbitant prices, which even civil servants who no longer receive their salaries cannot afford. “ Food production was devastated, with supplies of essential commodities, such as sorghum and millet, falling by up to 50% from the previous year.confirms Dominic MacSorley, humanitarian ambassador for the NGO Concern. And in the markets of Kadugli, South Kordofan, the price of wheat increased by 118%. People simply can’t afford to eat anymore. »
Another aggravating factor: the regions are isolated due to insecurity on the roads and dams, supply routes have had to be modified, causing delays and additional costs. Prices on the markets are up to three times more expensive, estimated the NGO International Rescue Committee (IRC). It is also necessary to import processed products, because the local industry has suffered a lot of damage. This is the case for dairy products, such as milk and yogurt for example.
Read alsoSudan: community kitchens to survive in a devastated country
Local production slowed down, factories destroyed
« We had local production. Now most of these products are imported from Saudi Arabia or Egypt. Imagine how much that can cost! “, exclaims Eatizaz Yousif, director of IRC in Sudan. The problem is similar for non-alcoholic drinks. “ We produced them on a large scale in our large factory. But this factory was destroyed. So we totally depend on imports “, she specifies. A quantity of basic products which have become very expensive. “ Prices to which the cost of taxes must be added. It’s really massive, and a large number of Sudanese can no longer buy these foodstuffs which were basic products », she regrets.
With an onshore banking system and a liquidity crisis, the director of IRC hopes to see international institutions inject liquidity into the Sudanese economy.
#Sudan #economy #devastated #year #conflict