Story perspectives

War, El Niño Push Sudan Food Prices Nearly Tenfold

By Drooid · Oct 18, 2026, 2:23 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Sudan Faces Food Crisis

War and El Niño have driven Sudan’s food prices up nearly tenfold.
FAO reports 75 % of irrigated land is idle, cutting grain output up to 40 %.
Nearly 19.5 million Sudanese now face crisis-level acute food insecurity, according to FAO, WFP and UNICEF.
Black-market exchange fell to 9,300 pounds per dollar, from about 600 before the war.
Medicine losses total $500 million, with only eight of thirty Khartoum factories still operating.

Summary

EU Funds Sudan Aid

EU is providing €165 million for food-security projects in Darfur, Blue Nile, White Nile and other Sudanese states.
Finance Minister Dr Jibril Ibrahim warned Gulf region developments could worsen Sudan’s fragile food security.
EU is allocating €30 million for emergency aid in Gedaref, Kassala, Red Sea and Northern State.
EU officials urge all parties to respect international humanitarian law and observe a humanitarian truce.

History

Historical Context

The EU’s €165 million food-security plan echoes earlier emergency responses to Sudan’s famines, such as the 1988 crisis that killed roughly 250,000 people and the 1993 famine during civil war. Those disasters prompted UN-WFP grain shipments and large donor aid, shaping today’s effort to avert a repeat amid war-driven severe inflation.

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Sudan Faces Food Crisis

War and El Niño have driven Sudan’s food prices up nearly tenfold.
FAO reports 75 % of irrigated land is idle, cutting grain output up to 40 %.
Nearly 19.5 million Sudanese now face crisis-level acute food insecurity, according to FAO, WFP and UNICEF.
Black-market exchange fell to 9,300 pounds per dollar, from about 600 before the war.
Medicine losses total $500 million, with only eight of thirty Khartoum factories still operating.

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