Cars queue for fourth day as Sudan capital’s fuel stations run dry

Long queues have formed in front to fuel stations in Khartoum as well as other large Sudanese cities, for the fourth consecutive day. Some stations have stopped working completely due to lack of fuel.

Many vehicle owners have stressed that petrol has been scarce in most pumps in the capital except for government pumps for three days.

They pointed that petrol is selling for inflated prices on the black market.

Transport tariff

Oil Minister Azhari Abdelgader has attributed the crisis to the tariff of transport from Jaili refinery to petrol stations in Khartoum, as the transport companies are demanding an increase of transportation fees.

He stressed that the problem will be resolved without increasing the price of gallon in Khartoum.

In eastern Sudan, the Ministry of Finance in the Red Sea state issued a decision to supply the lorries with fuel for a one-way journey instead of back and forth as from last Tuesday.

A number of lorry drivers have described the decision as unfair that would exacerbate their suffering on the journey back to Port Sudan because of the gasoline crisis that hit various states.

Journalist Osman Hashim told Radio Dabanga, “The petrol crisis is still going on in the Red Sea state where trucks are overcrowded in front of fuel stations”.

Exchange rate

On Wednesday, the exchange rate of the US Dollar against the Sudanese Pound rose, where the price of selling the US Dollar in the purchase with cash rose to SDG 55, and SDG 63 for cheques. One Saudi Riyal (SAR) was selling for SDG 15.20 cash.

Currency traders said they have come to deal with cheques because of the lack of liquidity.

They pointed to the repeated campaigns on a daily basis, which led to rise of foreign currency prices.