Local economy

Sudan finance minister says war is a “major calamity”

Sudan’s economy is facing one of its most challenging periods since the war began, as the pound’s decline accelerates, prices of basic goods rise and citizens’ purchasing power erodes, particularly for people on fixed incomes. Sudanese Finance and Economic Planning Minister Jibril Ibrahim said during a meeting with journalists in Khartoum on Friday that the war represents a “major calamity,” adding that the national currency’s recent decline had fed directly into prices. He said citizens were facing genuine hardship, especially workers on fixed wages and incomes, and acknowledged the scale of the cost-of-living pressures caused by eroding purchasing power. Ibrahim also said the war was not only creating military burdens but consuming large amounts of foreign currency, as inputs linked to military operations and reconstruction depend on foreign exchange. Agriculture and gold The finance minister said agriculture was the economy’s main way out, particularly since more than 65 percent of Sudanese depend on it for work and livelihoods. But the government faces another challenge: a large share of agricultural and gold production lies outside its control.

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Sudan finance minister says war is a “major calamity”

Sudanese Finance and Economic Planning Minister Jibril Ibrahim said during a meeting with journalists in Khartoum on Friday that the war represented a “major calamity” for the economy, explaining that the pound’s decline had fed directly into prices and eroded purchasing power, particularly among workers on fixed wages and incomes.

Ibrahim added that the burdens of the war extended beyond military spending, as inputs linked to military operations and reconstruction consumed large amounts of foreign currency at a time when the economy was under pressure to generate foreign exchange.

Agriculture and gold

The finance minister said agriculture was the economy’s main way out, given that more than 65 percent of Sudanese depend on it for work and livelihoods. He noted that a large share of agricultural and gold production lies outside the scope of official control and regulation.

Ibrahim said more than 80 percent of gold production came from artisanal mining, and that large numbers of Sudanese depended on the activity either directly or through related services. He added that the government was working to regulate the sector gradually, given the difficulty of preventing local communities from engaging in it.

Exchange-rate pressures

The economy’s declining ability to generate foreign currency coincided with mounting pressure on the pound, with the cost of the exchange-rate decline feeding through into the prices of imported and domestically produced goods. Broad swathes of the productive economy were disrupted by the war, which has continued since April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, causing damage to infrastructure and disrupting trade, production and supply chains.

Rebuilding infrastructure

Ibrahim said the infrastructure was “completely destroyed,” adding that without it there could be no production, exports or trade. He said the government was seeking to attract strategic partners to help rebuild railway networks, roads, electricity and water systems, sewage networks, airports and ports.

Infrastructure is completely destroyed

Jibril Ibrahim, Sudanese finance and economic planning minister

The minister linked the resumption of economic activity to rehabilitating infrastructure, restoring agricultural production, regulating the gold sector and expanding exports, amid the overlapping effects of the war, foreign-currency shortages and declining output.

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