Sudan is again economically isolated after the coup, experts say

Sudan, one of the poorest countries in the world, is again economically isolated after the coup d'état of General Abdel Fatah al-Burhan in October, according to experts, who point to an increase in poverty.

With his salary as a teacher, Babiker Mohamed no longer knows how to feed his family of six. “Today, I spend £27,000 every month for bread, that is 90% of my salary,” he explains.

Along with hundreds of teachers, railway workers and other protesters, he joined the weekly protests against the army, also calling for a reduction in the cost of living.

Since November, a group of protesters blocked an important trade route to Egypt, to denounce the rise in electricity prices.

In addition, the military government has progressively reduced gasoline subsidies: on Wednesday, the liter cost 672 pounds (about $1.55), compared to 320 pounds before the coup.

- Suspended aid -

In retaliation for the coup d'état led by General Fatah al-Burhan on October 25 and the repression of the mobilizations against him, the World Bank suspended $2 billion in aid and the United States, 700 million.

The State thus lost 40% of its income.

Worse still, Washington, which had shipped 300,000 tons of wheat in 2021, will not ship the 400,000 tons promised in 2022.

In addition, two of the world's leading wheat producers, Russia and Ukraine, are at war.

However, the government claims to have designed a self-sufficient budget for 2022. But experts call it a mere showcase.

After October 25, the country “returned to the embargo” imposed in 1993 during the rule of the deposed dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, whom Washington accused of supporting “terrorism,” economist Samia Sayyid tells AFP.

It is as hard a blow “as the loss of oil when South Sudan became independent” in 2011, adds Mohamed al-Nayyir, also an economist.

- Inflation -

At that time, Khartoum lost 85 per cent of the $7.5 billion coming from exports. In addition, the currency collapsed and inflation was 45%.

But ten years later, the rise in prices continues to accelerate. In February, it reached 258%. And according to al-Nayyir, it could “reach 500%”.

In an attempt to restore balance, on 7 March the Central Bank announced the floating of the pound, which is now freely traded on the foreign exchange market at 660 pounds per euro.

“It's the right decision, but at the wrong time,” says Sayyid. He believes it would have been better to take it after the overthrow of al-Bashir, when funds and trading opportunities flowed to “stimulate production” and counteract “inflation and devaluation.”

But currently, the authorities do the opposite and “increase taxes on goods, especially agricultural ones, which places a burden on the productive sectors,” he explains.

In Sudan, one in three inhabitants depends on humanitarian aid.

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