A section of women in Khartoum City have protested the new prices of cooking gas set by the Higher Economic Committee of Emergency and Crisis Management in Khartoum State. Recently, the committee set the cost of a 12.5-kilogram gas cylinder at 23,600 Sudanese pounds.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, Ghadeer Abu Zeid, a resident of the Al-Thoura neighborhood, expressed her frustrations over the new prices. She recently relocated from the Um Badda locality due to the war. She recalled that a similar gas cylinder was selling at 7,000 pounds in the early months of the conflict before it shot to 16,000 pounds.
Zeid said that before Ramadan in March, residents had to register their names with the neighborhood committee and pay fees to receive a refilled cylinder after a month or more.
She said: “Currently, the price has soared to 24,000 pounds. The committee has contacted us about the additional amount required for us to receive the cylinder.”
Zeid described the new increase in gas prices as excessive, especially given the circumstances where citizens have lost their sources of income to the war in Sudan. She said most households rely on aid from relatives abroad due to the soaring dollar prices in the black market.
Another woman, Khadija Hamid, stated that the price of a cooking gas cylinder in their area was 10,000 pounds seven months ago. She noted that the current increase ranges between 26,000 to 27,000 pounds, while commercial gas refills at 60,000 Sudanese pounds.
Samia Ibrahim, a resident of Karari, said refilling the gas cylinder in their area in Karari Locality was 17,000 pounds several months ago. “Obtaining it required registration and full fee payment, while commercial gas now starts from 45,000 pounds due to increased transportation costs,” she said.
Rihab El Hadi, a resident of Karari locality, recounts that at the onset of the conflict, the price of a cooking gas cylinder soared to 10,000 pounds and was unavailable, forcing them to resort to costly alternatives such as electric appliances and charcoal.
She added, “This was neither practical nor financially viable. The price of the cylinder in the black market reached 60,000 pounds, similar to government gas, which ranges between 26,000 to 28,000 pounds.”
The Higher Economic Committee for Emergency and Crisis Management in Khartoum State announced the official gas cylinder price for citizens to be 23,600 pounds for a 12.5-kilogram cylinder.
The committee indicated that it has been monitoring the increased imported gas prices over the past few days. It further attributed the rise in the dollar exchange rate as directly impacting the cost of importing gas.
The committee further clarified that efforts were in place to cushion citizens from the economic instability caused by the rising prices of the US dollar in the market.
The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) affected every aspect of the Sudanese economy, covering the industrial, agricultural, mining and service sectors.
Since the onset of the war in April 2023, the Sudanese pound has continued to decline against foreign currencies, losing more than 50 percent of its value.