Bread Crisis in Sudan Hindering Government Efforts

A Sudanese man works at a bakery in the capital Khartoum on Friday. (AFP)
A Sudanese man works at a bakery in the capital Khartoum on Friday. (AFP)
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Bread Crisis in Sudan Hindering Government Efforts

A Sudanese man works at a bakery in the capital Khartoum on Friday. (AFP)
A Sudanese man works at a bakery in the capital Khartoum on Friday. (AFP)

Bread lines remain a familiar scene in the main streets of Khartoum, although the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning announced that it was increasing subsidies of a sack of flour from 100 to 250 Sudanese pounds (around USD14).

A Russian ship loaded with wheat had already arrived in Port Sudan.

Sudan has been witnessing a crisis in providing wheat to bakeries for a month now due to the scarcity of foreign monetary resources in the Central Bank of Sudan (CBS), which was forced to resort to commercial banks to fulfill the country’s needs of essential products, such as wheat and fuel.

The ministry demanded that bakeries increase their daily production to exceed 100,000 sacks to cover the needs of the capital and other states.

The security authorities and popular forces called for taking precautions to maintain the subsidized wheat and prevent smuggling.

Tariq Shalabi, State Minister at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, said that the country seeks to provide bread given that it is a strategic product that is linked to the lives of citizens.

He pointed out that the past period saw several policies to resolve this crisis.



GASTAT: Saudi Industrial Production Index Increases by 3.4% in November 2024

GASTAT publishes the IPI monthly. SPA
GASTAT publishes the IPI monthly. SPA
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GASTAT: Saudi Industrial Production Index Increases by 3.4% in November 2024

GASTAT publishes the IPI monthly. SPA
GASTAT publishes the IPI monthly. SPA

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said Thursday that the Industrial Production Index (IPI) statistics for November 2024 showed a 3.4% increase compared to the same month of the previous year.

This increase is driven by growth in mining and quarrying, manufacturing, water supply, sewerage, and waste management and remediation activities, GASTAT said.

Furthermore, the sub-index of mining and quarrying activity increased by 1.2%, and the sub-index of manufacturing activity increased by 7.2%.

The sub-index of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply activity recorded a decrease of 2.1%, and the sub-index of water supply, sewerage and waste management and remediation activities increased by 10.5%.

The IPI by main economic activities increased by 3.8% compared to the same month of the previous year, while the index of non-oil activities also increased by 2.4%.

GASTAT publishes the IPI monthly. It is an economic indicator that reflects the relative changes in the volume of industrial output. It is calculated based on the industrial production survey.