Sudan’s Wheat Import Requirements to Rise to 3.5 Mln Tons in 2023

A container with wheat is seen aboard Marshall Islands flagged general cargo ship Negmar Cicek loaded with wheat for Yemen, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in a sea port of the Chornomorsk town, Odesa region, Ukraine March 24, 2023. (Reuters)
A container with wheat is seen aboard Marshall Islands flagged general cargo ship Negmar Cicek loaded with wheat for Yemen, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in a sea port of the Chornomorsk town, Odesa region, Ukraine March 24, 2023. (Reuters)
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Sudan’s Wheat Import Requirements to Rise to 3.5 Mln Tons in 2023

A container with wheat is seen aboard Marshall Islands flagged general cargo ship Negmar Cicek loaded with wheat for Yemen, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in a sea port of the Chornomorsk town, Odesa region, Ukraine March 24, 2023. (Reuters)
A container with wheat is seen aboard Marshall Islands flagged general cargo ship Negmar Cicek loaded with wheat for Yemen, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in a sea port of the Chornomorsk town, Odesa region, Ukraine March 24, 2023. (Reuters)

Sudan will need to import 3.5 million tons of wheat this year because of a 30% drop in the projected local harvest after farmers switched to planting different crops, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Wednesday.

Some farmers told Reuters the government had failed to buy their wheat on promised terms last year, leaving them reluctant or without the money to plant a new crop.

This year production of sorghum, a staple in Sudan, and of millet, is expected to recover, helped by favorable rains, the FAO said. Projected wheat imports will therefore account for nearly all Sudan's expected cereal import requirements of 3.6 million tons, it added.

"This will have a major impact on the food security of millions of Sudanese people, as international prices of wheat continue to increase and the country's national currency weakens," the agency said in a statement.

In 2022, Sudan imported 2.7 million tons of wheat and flour at a cost of $1.06 billion, with Russia, Australia, and Romania being the top import origins, according to central bank data.

Humanitarian agencies have warned of rising levels of hunger in Sudan, where more than one third of the population faced acute food insecurity last year.

"Communities are facing differing scales of vulnerabilities driven by soaring prices of staple crops, and the combined effects of economic downturn, high inflation, climate-induced hazards and conflict," the FAO statement quoted its Sudan representative Adam Yao as saying.



Mawani Reports 13% Growth in Container Handling at Ports in May 2025

Mawani Reports 13% Growth in Container Handling at Ports in May 2025
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Mawani Reports 13% Growth in Container Handling at Ports in May 2025

Mawani Reports 13% Growth in Container Handling at Ports in May 2025

Ports supervised by the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) recorded a 13% increase in container handling during May 2025, reaching 720,684 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), compared with 639,736 TEUs in the same period last year.

Transshipment containers increased by 12.89%, totaling 149,143 TEUs compared to 132,112 last year. Imports also grew by 15.84%, reaching 292,223 TEUs, compared to 252,265 TEUs in May 2024, SPA reported.

Outgoing containers increased by 9.38%, totaling 279,318 TEUs compared to 255,359 TEUs in the same month last year.

Total handled cargo—including general cargo, solid bulk, and liquid bulk—increased by 1.40% to reach 21,337,699 tons, up from 21,042,684 tons in the corresponding period of 2024. This total includes 935,932 tons of general cargo, 5,059,899 tons of solid bulk cargo, and 15,341,868 tons of liquid bulk cargo.

The ports also received 1,635,489 heads of livestock, marking a 61.22% increase from 1,014,417 in the same period last year. Maritime traffic rose by 9.39%, with 1,083 vessels received compared to 990 last year. Passenger numbers increased by 68.15% to 95,231, up from 56,636 in May 2024. The number of vehicles grew by 13.09% to 84,352, compared to 74,590 last year.