Ed-Daien town in East Darfur has seen a rise in the price of bread, with bakeries overcrowded with long queues throughout the day. Parts of Kordofan are also affected including the towns of the Western Sector.

Citizens in Ed-Daien told Radio Tamazuj that the price of a loaf is 500 piasters while in Muglad in south-western Kordofan five pounds busy only three loafs. Bakers in the East Darfur capital attributed the lack of to a shortage of flour in the town’s markets, which led them to increase prices.

They explained that the price of a sack of flour rose to 220 pounds, and warned that the crisis will continue because a grain mill company in Khartoum is no longer providing flour to the area.

Likewise in Muglad, queues yesterday at bakeries in Muglad were long. A sack of flour was priced at 200 pounds, when previously it had cost 150 only. A source in the town noted also that there are groups that impose taxes on truck drivers on the way from Khartoum to Muglad.

Another factor is the deterioration of the security situation, which could hinder the movement of commercial convoys to the region.

File photo: A baker at a Darfur refugee camp in eastern Chad, 2011 (UNHCR/F. Noy)