Sudan: Queueing for Scarce Bread in More Sudanese States

Bread

People in White Nile, El Gezira and Atbara in River Nile are queueing in front of bakeries to obtain scarce bread, caused by a shortage of flour.

On Monday, residents and housewives in Atbara told Radio Dabanga that the bread shortage has continued for two days. "It is very difficult to get bread from bakeries," a housewife said.

Bakery owners in El Gezira said that all the peripheral localities of the state are experiencing a lack of flour. A resident of El Haj Abdullah neighbourhood told Radio Dabanga that the bread crisis has led to the emergence of long queues in front of bakeries, and a decrease of the bread size.

He pointed to the rise of the price for flour in all localities, and that agents and suppliers manipulate the prices - "control by the competent organs has so far been absent". A flour sack from agents costs SDG150 ($23), while it costs SDG250 ($38.50) in the black market.

The Minister of Finance in White Nile state, Eisa Abakar Mohamed has attributed the so-called bread crisis in the state to the fact that some bakeries have not received the state's portion of flour, prompting people to line up in front of bakeries.

The secretary-general of the union of bakeries in Sudan, Badruldin El Jalal told Radio Dabanga that the bread crisis which has hit Khartoum and a number of states over the weekend "is about to be resolved". 

Flour distributors including Sayga Flour Company and Weeta are planned to return to the flour distribution system after a stop during the previous period.

Before, analysts attributed earlier flour crises, in 2015 and 2016, to the lack of hard currency at the Sudanese banks which forced the importers, reportedly including the government, to buy US dollars at the black market.