Sudan’s Inflation Falls But Economic Pressures Deepen
Sudan’s annual inflation dipped in October, but supply breakdowns, regional disparities and conflict-driven shortages continue to batter the wartime economy.
Sudan’s annual inflation rate fell to 77.4 per cent in October, down from 83.47 per cent the previous month, according to data released by the Sudan Central Bureau of Statistics.
The decline provides rare relief in an economy strained by the ongoing conflict by which was started the Rapid Support Forces against the Sudan Armed Forces.
Despite the slowdown, price levels remain significantly higher than a year earlier. International agencies including the UN and the World Bank warn that Sudan is experiencing one of the world’s most severe economic and humanitarian crises, with supply chains in disarray and more than half the population displaced.
Urban inflation reached 83.37 per cent in October, compared with 74.64 per cent in rural areas, underscoring the uneven impact of price rises. Cities are more exposed to shortages of imported goods and volatile transport costs.
Education recorded the steepest annual increase among expenditure groups at 229.7 per cent. Telecommunications rose 208.16 per cent, while housing, water, electricity and fuel increased to 72.8 per cent from 71.25 per cent in September.
Inflation for imported goods dropped slightly to 62.2 per cent, reflecting a modest easing in the cost of foreign commodities.
Sudan’s broken currency market — split between formal and informal rates since the outbreak of war — continues to distort prices and limit access to dollars.
Regional disparities remained stark. North Darfur posted an inflation rate of 346.13 per cent, the highest in the country, while Blue Nile state recorded only 5.57 per cent. Aid organisations say such variation reflects the collapse of transport routes, the RSF looting of food supplies and the absence of functioning local administration in several conflict zones administered by the RSF.
Even with October’s moderation, Sudan remains among the countries with the fastest-rising prices globally. The IMF has said the conflict has “virtually frozen economic activity”, while food inflation continues to accelerate due to crop failures, blocked trade corridors and the dislocation of millions of people.
Reporting by Awad Mustafa