Collapsing currency and inflation leave families struggling in Sudan
Families across Sudan are facing rising costs for food, transport, healthcare and education as the Sudanese pound plunges amid the countrys fourth year of conflict. Vendors such as a Port Sudan tea seller report that nominal daily earnings have risen but real purchasing power has collapsed, with staples like bread, sugar and meat becoming increasingly unaffordable.
Why It Matters
The currency collapse and ongoing inflation compound humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 20 million people face acute food shortages and the economy has contracted sharply, reducing households ability to meet basic needs and complicating relief efforts.
Key Facts
- Location: Port Sudan, Sudan
- Interviewee: Aisha, 27-year-old tea and coffee vendor
- Pre-war coffee price: 1,000 Sudanese pounds (about $1.70 at pre-war rates)
- Current coffee and tea prices: 3,000 pounds for coffee and 1,500 pounds for tea (roughly $0.40 and $0.20 at current rates)
- Vendor daily earnings now: Between 70,000 and 100,000 pounds (about $9.30 to $13.30 at current rates)
Many Sudanese households are seeing money earned buy far less than before the conflict began in April 2023. In Port Sudan, a 27-year-old tea and coffee seller described how nominal prices and daily takings have climbed, but increased costs for goods and transport have wiped out any real improvement in living standards. She said five pieces of bread that previously cost 1,000 pounds now are reduced to three for the same amount, and everyday travel costs have quadrupled. Prices for common staples have risen markedly: sugar moved from 4,000 to 7,000 pounds per kilogram, lentils cost about 16,000 pounds per kilogram, and beef reached roughly 68,000 pounds per kilogram. Those price moves come as Sudanese families also face higher costs for healthcare and education, adding pressure on already stretched household budgets. The broader economy has been hard hit by the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. Sudans Central Bureau of Statistics reported annual inflation at just over 41 percent in July, down from 51 percent in June, while the consumer price index still rose nearly 1.5 percent from June to July. The UN Development Programme estimated the country lost about $6.4 billion in GDP in 2023 and said the economy contracted by more than 40 percent during the conflict, with one-third of businesses closing. Currency depreciation has accelerated: where $1 traded for roughly 600 pounds before the war, black market rates reached about 7,500 pounds to the dollar by September 22, with local variation. Analysts point to disrupted production and exports, looting and smuggling of resources, and damage to financial and government revenue systems as drivers of the pounds fall. Experts cited by Al Jazeera urged a mix of short-term measures to boost domestic food production and collect taxes more effectively, alongside longer-term structural reforms to strengthen agriculture, formalise the gold sector, reduce import dependence, and lower production costs for farmers.
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