Citizens of El Daein town of Sudan’s East Darfur State have said prices of essential and food commodities have decreased significantly in recent weeks due to a decline and stability of the dollar exchange rate.
The price of a sack of sugar decreased from 82,000 to 50,000 Sudanese pounds, a Jerry can of oil from 42,000 to 38, 000 pounds, and a sack of wheat flour from 47,000 to 25,000 Sudanese pounds.
The market also witnessed a noticeable decline in fuel prices as the price of a barrel of gasoline reduced to 400,000 down from 800,000. A barrel of liquefied gas now sells at 270,000 Sudanese Pounds.
Al Daein resident Khaled Ibrahim Hamdan told Radio Tamazuj on Sunday that the city is witnessing a decline in the prices of consumer goods such as flour, and oil, among others despite the pause of goods coming from Khartoum due to the ongoing war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.
“Prices rise every year in August due to the deterioration of roads but after that, we often do not face challenges,” he said.
Another resident, Abdul Rahim Mohammed Houli, said that the influx of goods from South Sudan also contributed to the decrease in prices in the city of El Daein.
For his part, the head of the East Darfur Business Union, Al-Sadiq Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, said that the low prices in Al-Daein’s markets are due to the abundance of supply and the low exchange rate of the dollar. He stated that Al-Daein currently supplies the other states of Darfur with consumer goods.
“The goods brought by merchants from South Sudan and Libya are what contributed to the decline in prices,” he said.
Ahmed expects a further decline in prices in the coming months following the opening of the southern road, which was closed due to rough roads during the rainy season.
El Daein town is the only city in Darfur that has not witnessed battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces since the outbreak of war between the two military forces in mid-April.
Traditional leaders of the Rizaigat tribes living in eastern Darfur have contributed to maintaining stability in the area.