Khartoum: Abdul-Majeed Mohamed Al-Tayeb, acting Undersecretary of Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, said in a statement that the wheat production in the country can only feed less than 30 per cent of its consumption.
“The annual wheat consumption is about 2.4 million tons, while the local production does not exceed 700,000 tons,” he added on Saturday.
The UN has already warned that Sudan could face a serious shortage of cereals this year amid an ongoing economic crisis in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Sudan is expected to face a significant cereal supply gap in 2022. The estimated 5.1 million tons of cereal harvested in the 2021/2022 season will cover about 65 per cent of the estimated 7.6 million tons of cereal Sudan typically requires,” said the annual Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission report published in March.
Cereal retail prices have increased by 20 to 30 per cent in most major production and consumption markets between February and March, which are now 110 to 120 per cent higher than in March 2021, and 500 to 700 per cent higher than the five-year average, according to the report.
The report expected Sudan to import around 2.5 million tons of food in total this year, primarily wheat and sorghum, up almost 24 per cent from last year and 35 per cent higher than the five-year average.
The report attributed the cereal supply shortage in Sudan to deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, reduced government ability to import good and staple foods, and the high prices of staple and non-staple food items, along with the impact of continued conflict, displacement and political instability.
Earlier, the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a press release that half of Sudan’s population would face acute hunger this year.
According to the WFP, about 20 million people would likely be affected by emergency or crisis levels of acute food insecurity, doubling the figure in 2021.
Sudan has been facing an economic crisis since the US and international agencies suspended aid after Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the General Commander of the Sudanese armed forces, declared a state of emergency on October 25, 2021, and dissolved the Sovereign Council.
The US has suspended $700 million in economic aid to Sudan, while the World Bank failed to offer Sudan the $500 million due in November 2021. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also halted $150 million in special drawing rights for Sudan.
Sudan’s debt relief process under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative of the IMF has also been suspended.
Sudan has been plagued by an economic crisis since the secession of South Sudan in 2011, which costs Sudan 75 per cent of its oil revenues.
–IANS
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