Sudan Chambers of Industry press govt to lower production costs

A committee from the Sudanese Federation of Chambers of Industry threatened on Tuesday to take escalatory steps if the government does not respond within seven days to its demands to lower production costs.

During a press conference at the premises of the Sudan News Agency (SUNA), Abdelrahman Abbas, Secretary-General of the Steering Committee of the Federation of Sudanese Chambers of Industry said that both the production and sales of goods would stop unless their demands were met.

Their central demands are the abolition of production taxes and the adjustment of customs in a way that corresponds to the Dollar rate so that people’s purchasing power improves, Abbas said. He also called for the end of fuel taxes.

'Catastrophic decision'

Sudan’s key industrialists have been discussing several issues, Abbas said, including the ‘‘catastrophic decision’’ taken by the Ministry of Finance to raise the Dollar exchange rate from SDG 445 to SDG 564. With service fees included, this will lead to a 35 percent rise in production costs, Abbas claimed.

Rising inflation prompted the Central Bank of Sudan to issue a new banknote of SDG 1,000 in June. According to economic and political analyst Hafiz Ismail, who was interviewed on Radio Dabanga’s Sudan Today about Sudan's financial situation, recent increases in taxes and customs duties are likely to further drive inflation.

The general rise in the cost of production will be felt most by those buying the products, Abbas stated, adding that more than 80 percent of the Sudanese factories operate with capacities less than 20 percent.