SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: AFP - Sudan's coup-hit economy in free fall as prices bite

20/3/2022: AFP - Sudan's coup-hit economy in free fall as prices bite

AFP’s report on Sudan’s economy following suspension of aid following the military coup.

Economist Mohammed al-Nayer noted that taxes now constitute 58% of the budget, sharply increasing prices and pushing the country into recession, alongside forecasting that inflation may rise at 500% from 258%.

Mohammed, who provides for a family of six, said that bread now costs 27,000 pounds a month which is 90% of his salary, and he is unsure of whether he can afford to send his children to school.

A spokesman for the association of bakery owners attributed the price increases to unaffordable operational costs, with electricity tariffs increasing by 500%. Sudan is also especially vulnerable to the impact of global supply shortages in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

An anonymous business owner said they laid of 300 employees, mostly women who were breadwinners of their families.