Butchers strike in El Obeid, North Kordofan

The butchers at the market of El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan, embarked on a strike on Tuesday, in protest against the increase in slaughtering fees.
One of the striking butchers reported to Radio Dabanga that about 90 percent of the butchers joined the strike. “Only a few butchers opened their shops because they were not notified.
“The fees for slaughtering a lamb increased to SDG36 ($6),” he said. “The slaughtering fees for a cow increased by SDG5 to SDG75 ($12), in addition to similar increases in the fees for sheep and camels.”
The butcher explained that in El Obeid about 75 head of cattle are slaughtered each day, besides ten camels and 50 sheep.
Soaring prices
After the rise in the prices of cooking gas, the prices of all consumer goods are soaring, market vendor Ismail El Tayeb told Radio Dabanga from El Obeid.
“The price of a 50 kilogram sack of sugar jumped from SDG280 ($46) to SDG315 ($51).”
Trader Mujahed Omar said that the price increases follow the increasing value of the US Dollar on the black market. “The Central Bank of Sudan pumped $100 million into the Sudanese banks to strengthen their foreign exchange balances.”
He predicted that “investment deposits by sister countries may help too”.