The crisis of the rise in the price of the dollar in Sudan does not appear to be just numbers changing in the exchange market, but rather it is directly reflected in the lives of citizens, from food and transportation prices to market movement and work costs. With the continued instability of the exchange rate and the scarcity of cash liquidity, many Sudanese find themselves facing increasing living burdens.
"Arabia DW" monitored, through recent surveys of the opinions of residents from Khartoum and Port Sudan, the impact of the rise in the dollar, the decline in the price of the local currency, the pound, and the decline in people's purchasing power, in addition to the difficulties they face in light of the increasing reliance on banking applications.
Markets are under pressure from rising prices
In Souq Satta in the city of Bahri in Khartoum, trader Mohamed Al-Hassan says, “Currency price fluctuations have clearly affected the buying and selling movement.
He points out that the rise in the price of the dollar was directly reflected in the prices of goods, prompting citizens to reduce their purchases and limit themselves to basic needs. Al-Hassan adds: "The impact is very great. People have begun to focus on necessities only, the demand for goods has clearly declined, and the situation has become very difficult."
The difficulties, according to Al-Hassan, are not limited to the rise in prices, as the frequent interruption of the “Your Bank” application affects buying and selling operations, in light of the dependence of a wide segment of customers on electronic banking services.
Lack of liquidity and halting of applications
Muhammad, a pseudonym for a citizen residing in Omdurman, describes the impact of the rise in the dollar on citizens as “real suffering.”
A large part of daily transactions in Sudan has become dependent on banking applications, at a time when the markets are suffering from a scarcity of cash. Muhammad adds: “With the applications stopping, the problem is very big in purchases. Bills change every day, and as a worker in the procurement sector, I suffer greatly.”
According to Hassan, the economic crisis has also affected the movement of life and work, with fuel and congestion problems continuing.
Muhammad points out that the high prices and deteriorating economic conditions affected daily life, adding: “I returned to Khartoum and found queues for everything, from fuel to services, and great paralysis in life and work.”
Port Sudan.. multiple crises
In Port Sudan, Fathi (a pseudonym), a resident of the city after the war, says, “Residents are facing difficult living conditions that go beyond the issue of high prices.”
Fathi says, “The situation is scary...there is no electricity or water, and we do not know the reason for the high prices and its relationship to the dollar.” "The situation is very difficult."
He adds that the cessation of banking applications increases the complications of daily life, especially in light of citizens’ reliance on them to complete many transactions.
Since the outbreak of war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15, 2023, Sudan has been facing worsening economic and security repercussions that have cast a shadow over the lives of citizens.
High prices put pressure on families and students
As for Fatima, a medical student residing in Omdurman, she says that the rise of the dollar was reflected in the details of daily life, from transportation to bread and basic goods. Fatima explains that the high cost of living has made some families face increasing difficulty in providing their basic needs.
She says: “The rise in the dollar has increased every need, including transportation and bread, and many families have become unable to provide food because of this high price.”
In light of the high prices and the instability of the exchange rate. For the citizen, the influence of the dollar does not stop at the borders of the currency market, but rather extends to the simplest details of daily life.
Regional tensions and the pound
For his part, economic analyst Dr. Mohamed Al-Nayer Mohamed Nour said in an interview with DW, "It is natural for any country suffering from war for several years to witness a decline in economic performance indicators." He explained that the war remains the most important factor behind this decline, despite its decline in some areas of Kordofan and Darfur.
Al-Nair pointed out that before the outbreak of war, Sudan was providing about 55% of its oil needs locally, while it currently relies on importing all of its needs from abroad, which led to an increase in the import bill and an increase in demand for foreign exchange, which was reflected in the exchange rate of the Sudanese pound.
He added that Sudan is inseparable from global economic developments, pointing out that regional tensions, including the Iranian war and tensions in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, have cast their shadows on the Sudanese economy. He explained that these developments contributed to the rise in oil and gas prices and the complexity of supply chains, which increased pressure on the Sudanese economy, which is already facing the challenges of internal war.
He adds that there is another factor contributing to the decline in the value of the pound, which is the circulation of counterfeit currencies, in addition to wasted banknotes that are said to have come out of currency printing presses and the central bank that were controlled during the war and are used in areas under the control of the Rapid Support Forces.
He believes that these developments weakened confidence in the national currency and contributed to increased market turmoil. He confirms that these factors, in addition to the continuous rise in the price of the dollar, have increased pressure on citizens and directly affected their purchasing power. It is believed that confronting these challenges requires decisive measures, including replacing the currency and tightening control over the monetary supply, which contributes to enhancing stability in the financial system.
For its part, the Sudanese authorities say that the currency replacement process, which was launched in December 2024, came to protect the pound and reduce counterfeiting and speculation in the foreign exchange market.
