River Navigation Resumes Between Egypt, Sudan

A boat transports people along the river Nile in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
A boat transports people along the river Nile in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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River Navigation Resumes Between Egypt, Sudan

A boat transports people along the river Nile in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
A boat transports people along the river Nile in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Sudan’s Wadi Halfa River Port, which borders Egypt, started receiving Egyptian imports on Wednesday through units and river barges transported between the Port and Aswan High Dam.

This comes after a four-month suspension due to the precautionary measures taken by the Sudanese government which closed the crossings and borders to limit the spread of the new coronavirus.

The port received a number of Egyptian imports through the vessels and units that belong to the Egyptian-Sudanese Nile Valley Authority for River Navigation.

The Sudanese government announced in mid-June the resumption of trade exchange with Egypt through Ashkeet border crossing, after nearly a three-month standstill.

Head of the Authority’s office in Wadi Halfa Mahmoud Abd El Motaal said about 2,000 tons of cement have arrived during the past two weeks from the High Dam to Halfa, expecting further 1,500 tons of urea fertilizer to arrive soon through Wadi Halfa port.

The Nile Valley Authority for River Navigation is an Egyptian-Sudanese organization that transports passengers as well as goods. It was established in 1975 as the only international transporter in Nasser Lake.

The volume of trade exchange between Sudan and Egypt is estimated at one billion dollars annually, and Egyptian investments in Sudan are estimated at $10.1 billion.

The two African countries have been planning to construct roads and railways to facilitate trade and transport through joint border crossings, in line with their attempts to double the volume of trade between them to reach $1.5 billion.



UN's FAO: World Food Prices Increase in April

FILE - A customer checks his shopping receipts while waiting in line at the food court at Costco Wholesale store in Glendale, Calif., on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - A customer checks his shopping receipts while waiting in line at the food court at Costco Wholesale store in Glendale, Calif., on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
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UN's FAO: World Food Prices Increase in April

FILE - A customer checks his shopping receipts while waiting in line at the food court at Costco Wholesale store in Glendale, Calif., on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - A customer checks his shopping receipts while waiting in line at the food court at Costco Wholesale store in Glendale, Calif., on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Global food commodity prices increased in April, driven by higher cereal, meat and dairy product prices that outweighed falls in sugar and vegetable oils, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 128.3 points in April, up 1% versus the March estimate of 127.1 points, Reuters reported.
The April reading was also 7.6% higher than the same month a year ago but 19.9% below a March 2022 peak reached following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
For cereals, FAO's price index rose 1.2% from March as wheat prices edged up due to tighter exports from Russia, rice rose on stronger demand and corn stocks tightened in the United States.
"Currency fluctuations influenced price movements in world markets, while tariff policy adjustments raised market uncertainty," the FAO added.
Despite the April rise, the cereal price index was 0.5% below its year earlier level.
Also driving food prices higher, the FAO's meat price index rose 3.2% last month, led by pig meat prices and firm import demand for bovine meat.
The dairy price index rose 2.4% in April and jumped 22.9% versus a year ago as butter prices hit record highs thanks to declining inventories in Europe.
By contrast, FAO's vegetable price index fell 2.3% last month due to a sharp decline in palm oil prices, while the sugar price index dropped 3.5% on fears over the uncertain global economic outlook.
In a separate cereal report, FAO kept its forecast for world wheat production unchanged at 795 million metric tons, on par with 2024 levels.
The agency decreased its estimate slightly for global cereal production in 2024 to 4.848 billion tons from 2.849 billion.