Sudan’s inflation rate have jumped despite promises from the government to rein in high prices and control a wave of continuous increases in major commodities.
The annual inflation rate in Sudan jumped to 422.78% last July, compared to 412.75% in the previous June, according to official figures.
The high inflation rates, which exceeded all global rates, doubled the living pressures on the Sudanese, for years, due to the high prices of necessary goods and services, and the scarcity of a number of them.
Sudan’s inflation rate
The Sudanese pound stabilized against foreign currencies during the past and the current month, as the price of the US dollar remained in the range of 450 pounds. There has been also a relative decline also in currency trading outside the banking domain.
A statement by the Central Bureau of Statistics said that the inflation rate for the food and beverage group recorded last July, more than 272%, while the same group recorded about 247% in June.
The base rate, without the food and beverage group, also recorded more than 625% for the past month, compared to an estimated rate of more than 643% for the previous month.
According to the statement, the inflation rate of imported goods in the consumer food basket recorded 240.81% for July. This is an increase of 10.49 points over the previous month, when the inflation rate reached 230.32%.
The Statistics Authority indicated that the inflation rate of consumer and service prices for the month of July rose in 14 states. The highest increase was in Kassala State, eastern Sudan, by more than 91 points. The lowest rate was monitored in South Kordofan State by 43.5 points.
Market watch
Last July, the Ministry of Trade and Supply implemented a campaign to monitor markets and control commodity prices, through awareness campaigns among traders, to reduce prices.
In previous press statements, Minister of Trade and Supply Ali Gedo said, “The campaign aims at this stage to educate the merchant and protect the citizen from greed, exploitation and price hikes.”
The campaign came after the government implemented a number of policies that led to an increase in prices.
Last June, the government announced the lifting of subsidies on fuel (gasoline, diesel) permanently, so that its price would be determined according to international prices.
The Sudanese government also partially liberalized its national currency, which led to an increase in the price of the dollar to more than 430 pounds, from 55 pounds, which was the official rate before the flotation.
Floating the currency, in addition to lifting subsidies on commodities, are two basic requirements of the International Monetary Fund to support an economic reform program implemented by the Sudanese government.
