More than 90% of the territory of Sudan is climatically arid, but access to the Nile Valley allows farming on fertile alluvial soils, as well as the development of irrigated agriculture.
The main agricultural crops of Sudan are represented by sugar cane (about 5 million tons estimated in 2021/22), sorghum (3.5 million tons), peanuts (2.4 million tons) and millet (1.5 million tons). Vegetables and fruits are also grown in significant volumes. The volume of wheat production during the analyzed period in comparison with sorghum and millet was small and amounted to 450-750 thousand tons per year.
A low harvest in 2021/22 against the background of high inflation led to an aggravation of the problem of food security. There was a significant decrease in the production of key crops: for example, sorghum production decreased by 31.5% compared to the previous season, millet — by 21.9%, peanuts — by 15.1%. According to CFSAM, the shortage of grain in the country's market due to crop failure is estimated at 2.5 million tons, which forces Sudan to increase purchases in foreign markets.
Animal husbandry is an important branch of agriculture in Sudan, but it is characterized by a high degree of extensiveness. About 90% of the livestock in Sudan belongs to the population, and the largest herds belong to nomadic pastoralists. Urban residents also keep livestock, including as pack animals, and it is common to keep chickens for personal consumption or sale.
The rest of the livestock (about 10%) is accounted for by industrial enterprises located near the country's capital, Khartoum, producing poultry meat, eggs, food and drinking milk, but they cover a small part of domestic demand.
The most pronounced positive dynamics is observed in poultry farming: during 2017-2021, the cumulative average annual growth rate of chicken egg production was 6.1%, poultry meat — 5.7%. At the same time, despite the increase in poultry meat production, beef and lamb continue to prevail in the consumption structure along with traditional types of meat (camel meat, goat meat).
According to UN Comtrade, in 2021, the total volume of imports of agricultural products of Sudan amounted to 2,312.7 million US dollars, an increase of 11.2% compared to 2020 (+232.5 million US dollars). The cumulative average annual growth rate of agroimport for 2017-2021 was 2.7%.
By the end of 2021, beet and cane sugar (37.2%), wheat (22.0%), sunflower oil (6.4%), milk powder (4.0%) and palm oil (3.6%) dominated in the value structure of imports of agricultural products of Sudan. Sugar and wheat accounted for more than half of Sudan's agricultural exports, and in total, 82% of the top 10 commodity categories.
The increase in imports compared to the previous year was mainly due to a 1.5-fold increase in the value of sugar imports: from 560 to 859.2 million US dollars. In physical terms, imports increased by about a quarter and reached 1,863.3 thousand tons, for the first time ahead of wheat in the structure of the country's agricultural import.
The value of wheat imports by the end of 2021 showed a slight decrease to 508.2 million US dollars (-4.1% by 2020), while the volume in physical terms decreased to the minimum for a five—year period - 1,857.3 thousand tons (-23.5%). In 2017-2020 . Sudan annually imported about 2 200 – 2 500 thousand tons of wheat.
In dynamics since 2017, the most pronounced increase in imports is characteristic of palm oil: in value terms by 10.8 times to 83.2 million US dollars, and in physical terms — by 8.3 times to 81.3 thousand tons.
The main exporting countries of agricultural products to Sudan in value terms in 2021 were India (22.0%), the UAE (14.9%), Russia (12.4%), Egypt (8.9%) and the USA (5.1%). Collectively, the share of the top 10 countries accounted for 80.8% of imports of agricultural products of Sudan. Since 2017, there has been a significant increase in agricultural exports from India and the USA (2.1 times), Egypt (5 times) and Indonesia (9.7 times). Deliveries from Russia, in turn, decreased by 12.8% since 2017, while the maximum volume of imports from Russia was recorded in 2018, when it amounted to 467.8 million US dollars.
According to UN Comtrade, in 2021, the total volume of exports of agricultural products of Sudan amounted to 1,817.6 million US dollars, an increase of 7.9% compared to 2020 (+133.3 million US dollars). The cumulative average annual growth rate of agricultural exports for 2017-2021 was 2.2%.
The basis of exports of agricultural products of Sudan are peanuts, sesame seeds and live sheep, which in 2021 accounted for 61.5% of the country's exports in value terms. In addition, Sudan exports non-food extracts, natural resins (6.5%), live camels (6.1%), dried pigeon peas (3.0%) and mutton (2.7%).
In 2021, the main importing countries of agricultural products from Sudan were China (40.5%), Saudi Arabia (18.7%), Egypt (8.6%) and India (6.7%). In total, the top 10 importing countries accounted for 90.1% of Sudan's agricultural exports in 2021. Russia's share in the supply of agricultural products from Sudan throughout the period was insignificant and did not exceed 0.1%.
The most popular crops in Sudan are sorghum, millet and wheat. Wheat is grown in small volumes, most of it is imported. These crops are an integral part of the daily diet;
The most popular type of flour is wheat flour, both local flour brands and imported ones are represented at retail outlets. In recent years, the consumption of pasta has been growing, but to a greater extent among middle- and high-income consumers.
The consumption of fats and oils in Sudan is traditionally low, which is typical for African countries with low GDP per capita. Sudan has its own production of oilseeds, but the product portfolio differs from world standards, due to local climatic conditions. The key crops are peanuts and sesame. And the most popular types of oils are peanut and sunflower.
Sudan does not fully provide itself with oils and depends on imports. Imports are dominated by two main types of oil — sunflower and palm. Consumer interest in sunflower oil is growing rapidly. At the same time, most buyers are interested in sunflower oil, since it is well suited for cooking and frying. Buyers believe that sunflower oil is of high quality, economical and healthy.
