SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Financial Times – Sudanese citizens lose patience as economy falters

26/1/2021: Financial Times – Sudanese citizens lose patience as economy falters, by Andres Schipani

 FT’s feature piece on Sudan’s economy identifies key issues contributing to the long bread and fuel queues caused by the government’s scarcity of hard currency to pay for fuel and wheat imports.

Officials say that Sudan’s economic issues are caused by the value of imports surpassing exports by 50% and the economy being “starved of foreign exchange since South Sudan seceded in 2011, taking three-quarters of oil reserves.”

FT add that the hardship is exacerbated by a plunge in the value of the Sudanese pound on the black market to 300 to the US dollar - the currency used for 90% of Sudanese imports and exports.

According to officials, diplomats and economists, while the official exchange rate is 55 Sudanese pounds to the dollar, black-market traders “often loyal to the old regime” are pushing the exchange rate to excess.