STORY: Shortages in basic commodities, price hikes exacerbate living conditions for Sudanese
SHOOTING TIME: July 30, 2024
DATELINE: July 31, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:32
LOCATION: GEDAREF, Sudan
CATEGORY: ECONOMY/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of a market in central Sudan
2. various of officials inspecting commodities in Gedaref
3. various of citizens packing commodities
4. various of onions being transported to a market
5. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): OMER IDRIS, Sudanese citizen
6. various of food commodities in a shop
7. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): MOHAMED MEKKI IBRAHIM, Sudanese citizen
8. various of the oil tanks in a shop

STORYLINE:

Price hikes and scarcity of basic commodities across Sudan have exacerbated the living conditions of people already grappling with the repercussions of an ongoing civil war in the country.

Omer Idris, a resident from a south Khartoum neighborhood, said essential items such as rice, flour, meat, and milk are often unavailable due to high prices.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): OMER IDRIS, Sudanese citizen
"From time to time, we are shocked by the price hikes. For example, the price of (a kilogram) of sugar was once 2,000 (Sudanese pounds) and now it is 3,000, and the prices of oil have also increased. We do not know the reasons, not sure whether it is due to the increase in transportation costs or the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar. We do not know the exact reason. And there is also a rise in onion prices."

In Al-Manaqil city in Gezira State in central Sudan, the flow of necessary commodities to the city has stopped due to the security situation, fuel shortage, and the heavy rains, according to Mohamed Mekki Ibrahim, a resident of the city.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): MOHAMED MEKKI IBRAHIM, Sudanese citizen
"The fluctuation in prices has caused very severe distress for people, especially for displaced people with limited income. Every day, we wake up to a rise in the prices of goods, but our income has not increased. This affects our living conditions."

Most of western Sudan areas, including Darfur and Kordofan States, have also been suffering from these problems.

According to the Bank of Khartoum's daily exchange rates of foreign currencies, the exchange rate of one dollar was 1,885 Sudanese pounds on Monday.

The World Food Programme has warned that the ongoing war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces "risks triggering the world's largest hunger crisis."

Sudan's inflation rate reached 136.67 percent in the first half of 2024, the country's Central Bureau of Statistics said in a press release on Monday.

Coinciding with the release on inflation rates on Monday, the Sudanese pound continued to decline against foreign currencies.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Gedaref, Sudan.
(XHTV)