Sudanese exports plunged in January after anti-government protests blocked the main trade route to neighboring Egypt.
Exports plummeted 85% to $43 million last month from a year earlier, according to government trade data seen by Bloomberg and confirmed by a Finance Ministry official.
Anti-government protesters in Sudan’s Northern State have barricaded several sections of a main road used to send goods including sesame seeds, livestock and peanuts to Egypt, its third-biggest trading partner according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They oppose both the military takeover and the Egyptian government’s support of the junta, said Wail El-Imam, a spokesman for the demonstrators.
“We want to pressure the coup regime both politically and economically,” El-Imam said.
Since mid-January, police have repeatedly removed barricades blocking the only main road linking Sudan to Egypt, only for protesters to set them up again in different locations.
Mohamed Hamad Bakr, a Sudanese exporter of livestock, said he had lost millions of Sudanese pounds due to the blockade, previously exporting between 1,000 and 1,500 animals daily between the two countries.