Sudan Market Opportunities

The covid-19 pandemic has hit Sudan at a time of political transition and economic crisis. After the overthrow of Umar Al-Bashir in 2019, the transitional government tried to introduce the necessary economic reforms, which, however, were not implemented due to the pandemic and floods, as they would have negatively affected the financial liquidity of Sudanese households in the short term.

During 2020, the value of the local currency continued to decline, and Sudan found itself in a vicious cycle of inflation, which reached its highest level in decades. Sudan’s annual inflation rate jumped to 330% in February 2021 from 304% in January. The country recorded the fourth highest inflation rate in the world after Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Lebanon.

To gain international support, Sudan had to harmonize the exchange rate of the Sudanese pound against the US dollar. The official exchange rate was 55 SDG/USD until February 2021, but on the black market one dollar was exchanged for up to 300 Sudanese pounds.

After many years of delays, Sudan reacted in February 2021 with a strong devaluation of its currency, which caused great disagreement among the population, but also among the wide diaspora, whose remittances thereby lost their value. However, according to the Sudanese government, this is an important step towards fiscal consolidation.

At the end of 2020, after more than 20 years of isolation due to US sanctions, a historic turning point occurred. In December 2020, the US State Department officially announced the revocation of Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. The move opened Sudan’s path to international institutions, which are expected to provide significant financial assistance in the coming years.

As Sudan struggled to recover from the worst of the covid-19 pandemic in late summer 2020, torrential rains hit the country in September. Devastating floods across 17 of Sudan’s 18 states were unprecedented in the country in 100 years.

As a result, farmers lost their crops and the prices of basic commodities such as bread and sugar rose sharply. The country, which has been mired in an economic crisis for a long time, has been hit by a food shortage crisis.
However, the outlook for the coming years may be positive in the light of renewed bilateral relations with the USA or IMF support.

Post-covid-19 opportunities

Mining, mining and oil industry

According to allcountrylist, Sudan offers great opportunities for foreign investors in the mining sector. In 2018, Sudan was among the top three gold producers in Africa, with a total annual production of 93 tons. The Sudanese government is trying to map all potential mineral deposits in the country, which, along with oil reserves, remain underexplored.

These are mainly precious metals such as gold and silver, but also copper, zinc, iron, manganese or phosphates or kaolin. The Sudanese government is trying to attract foreign investors and is introducing new reforms to make it easier for foreign companies to trade with mined products. In 2020, it abolished the monopoly of the Central Bank of Sudan for the export of all mined gold. Fixed market prices led to the proliferation of illegal black market trade.

According to the new regulation, a private mining company is allowed to sell up to 70% of the mined gold to its business partners and is required to sell 30% through the Central Bank of Sudan. Sudan aims to become a major mining center in Africa; to achieve it, it is necessary to significantly modernize outdated technologies, attract foreign investors and acquire the necessary know-how for efficient and ecological mining.

Water management and waste industry

According to UNICEF data, only 68% of households have access to drinking water sources, and only a third have access to both water and a sewage system. Many rural areas are not connected to main distribution systems and some areas are not supplied with water at all; people have to transport water from great distances.

Inefficient distribution, water leaks, lack of power sources, insufficient funds and low skills of the workforce result in water scarcity and poor quality, causing serious diseases – more than 11% of child deaths are caused by diarrhea due to poor sanitation.

Frequent torrential rains destroy the agricultural land on which the agrarian country depends for its existence. The Sudanese government and international donors are trying to improve the situation in the country, but more fundamental investment and sector-wide reforms are needed.

There is a need to minimize the effects of this crisis and to modernize the management of water resources – to make the irrigation of the Nile and Blue Nile basins more efficient and to ensure the responsible management of water resources by Sudanese farmers.

Manufacturing industry

Sudan is blessed with a very large livestock population estimated at around 140 million head. Nevertheless, there is a noticeable disparity between the number of animals and the output material for further processing or export. Economic waste from hides and skins is high due to poor practices and techniques used in their production, skinning, preservation and processing. Another challenge is the necessary centralization of the entire leather industry.

Most skins are collected in slaughterhouses, communal yards or public markets, where they are then resold to tanneries. The low level of the entire value chain causes inefficient handling of raw materials.

Sudan produces more leather than the capacity of the domestic market, a large part of the production is therefore exported with a very low added value of the product.

For that reason, the Sudanese government is trying to attract foreign investors who would not only bring the necessary know-how for the modernization of the entire sector, but would also present the possibilities of further processing of leather into more valuable products for subsequent domestic sales or foreign export.

Contacts

Subchapters:

Contacts to Czech embassies in the territory
Practical telephone numbers (emergency services, police, firefighters, information lines, etc.)
Important Internet links and contacts

Contacts at the embassies of the Czech Republic in the territory

Addresses of embassies (including PaulTrade), working hours, telephones, emails, ideal connections from the airport and the city center.)

If it is PROPEA, add the contact.

Embassy of the Czech Republic/Embassy of the Czech Republic

4, Dokki Str. 125 11 Giza (Cairo)

Egypt phone: +20-2-3333 9700

– fax exchange: +20-2-3748 5892

e-mail: [email protected]

Mobile telephone connection after working hours and on free days to the diplomatic service (reserved for dealing with emergency situations of Czech citizens): tel.: +20-12742 7513

Note The working days of the Embassy are in accordance with local customs from Sunday to Thursday, on the other hand, the Embassy observes holidays according to the Czech calendar.

Practical telephone numbers (emergency services, police, firemen, information lines, etc.)

See contacts name of the subsection + other important phone numbers

In Khartoum there is a centralized system of emergency services, police and fire brigade – phone: 111

Healthcare system in Sudan, there are state and private hospitals, but their level is far from reaching the European standard. Basic care is provided by local state clinics, specialist care by state hospitals and specialized hospitals. The average price of a medical consultation is 15-20 USD, in addition to paying for laboratory tests and medicines (treating malaria can thus cost 40-50 USD). The number of private hospitals in Khartoum is estimated at 38, detailed information about local health facilities is not available, therefore we only list hospitals in Khartoum without details of their specialization, level, suitability for use and asking prices. The recommendation of suitable facilities is based on the latest known information, and its topicality must be verified in the event of an emergency with the honorary consul of the Czech Republic in Khartoum or consular department of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Cairo.

HOSPITAL

Ahmed Gasim Children’s Hospital, Qasr Avenue, Khartoum;
Dar el Shifa Hospital, Khartoum South, New Extension Str. 77;
Doctor’s Clinic, Khartoum Medani Highway;
El Aamiriya Hospital, El Tabiya Str. Khartoum;
El Faisal Clinic, Khartoum 2, Moh. Naguib Str.;
Khartoum Specialized Hospital, Khartoum, New Extension Str. 41.

The most suitable hospitals for possible treatment in Khartoum are :

Ibn Sina Hospital, 317 New Extension;
Sudanese Medical Association Hospital, Africa Street (near the international airport);
San Francis Maternity Hospital

Important web links and contacts

Websites and contacts for all ministries, the government, the president, local chambers of commerce and further for consideration by country (e.g. major media, central bank, economic analysis, tax administration…)