Sudan’s Livestock Export Loses $83m Due to Seaports Closure: Minister

Some protesters block the Khartoum Port Sudan road on 17 September 2021 (ST photo)

October 16, 2021 

(KHARTOUM) - A Sudanese minister said that the livestock export has incurred losses of about $83 million as a result of the continued closure of roads and seaports in eastern Sudan.

Supporters of the Hadandawa tribal chief have been shutting down vital facilities in eastern Sudan, including the main port on the Red Sea, as well as the road linking Port Sudan and the capital, Khartoum, for about a month.

The tribal leader demands the abolition of the eastern track in the Juba Peace Agreement, the dissolution of the civilian government, and the power handover to the military component.

The Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Hafez Abdel Nabi, told the Sudan Tribune on Saturday that the losses of the livestock export to the Gulf countries amounted to about $83 million within a month.

"Losses from the revenues of local taxes for livestock exports amounted to 120 million pounds since the closure until now," he added.

"There are at least 150,000 heads of livestock ready for export, after the completion of the vaccination and control of animal infections," he further stressed.

He noted that exporters are incurring daily losses and If the closure continues, it would increase.

The protest movement of the Beja tribal group is perceived as part of the ongoing pressure on the transitional government and to bring it down.

In an interview with Sudan TV broadcast on Sunday, the Al-Handawa tribal leader denied that they were holding the basic goods or preventing their transportation to the rest of the country.

Mohamed Turk urged the Sudanese government to monitor the commodities stockpiled in the warehouses, adding that merchants keep in it important quantities of flour and sugar enough for the country’s needs for two months.

Turk made a list of goods that flow naturally, such as flour, sugar, medicine, fish and exported livestock.

It is worth noting that the government has called on the protesters to negotiate a deal to end the crisis but the tribal group declined the offer.

(ST)