EL Geneina, October 01 (Darfur24)
Bread has become scarce in El Geneina, West Darfur State, with supplies running out in several parts of the city by Thursday afternoon, as bakeries struggle with rising flour and production costs.
Bread is officially sold at three loaves for 1,000 Sudanese pounds under a price agreement between bakery owners and local authorities. But rising flour prices and other input costs have made it increasingly difficult for bakeries to maintain production at that price.
A resident told Darfur24 that several bakeries stop production around 3 p.m., causing bread shortages from about 4 p.m. Some residents also accused traders of buying and storing bread before reselling it at higher prices through street vendors.
Bakery owners attributed the early closures to rising production costs. One bakery owner said the price of a sack of flour had increased from about 100,000 Egyptian pounds to 160,000, alongside increases in other essential inputs.
He said the price increase has made it difficult for bakeries to remain profitable and forced some to suspend operations.
Traders also attributed rising food prices to cash shortages and the high discount rate applied to transactions through the Bankak mobile banking application, which they said has increased the cost of purchasing goods.
The shortage has particularly affected displaced people and other low-income residents who rely on bread as a basic food.