From January 2018, Sudan wants to completely eliminate the subsidies for wheat production and leave the import to the private traders. Finance Minister Magdi Hassan Yaseen believes that this will not increase the price of bread.
However, the government would buy locally produced wheat at "reasonable prices".
Sudan imported two million tonnes of wheat in 2017, with local production estimated at 445,000 tonnes.
This week, it was announced that Sudan wants to devalue its currency from $ 6.7 / Sudanese pound to $ 18 / Sudanese pound. The International Monetary Fund demands free trade in the currency.
The Minister of Finance is also lifting subsidies for fuel and medicine.
The Sudanese pound was already losing ground after Washington lifted 20-year sanctions in October and traders were able to import again. This puts the dangerously tight currency under pressure.
Sudan is dependent on imports and has suffered international sanctions since its separation from South Sudan in 2011, which has lost ¾ of its oil output.
Text: HANSA Derivatives Trading GmbH /
