One of Sudan's vital revenue sources
Port Sudan port struggles to recover from blockade and unrest
The port is the main port for about 90% of Sudan's international trade.
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Sudan has been shaken by the popular protests.
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Shipping officials and executives say a local tribal group's blockade of Sudan's main port on the Red Sea, and threats of further unrest;
It spoiled efforts to pull the country out of its economic crisis and might push trade to take another regional route.
A number of shipping companies were forced to stop their reservations through Port Sudan, the main international trade port and one of the vital sources of revenue for Sudan, which has been suffering from financial distress and has been trying to break free from the political turmoil that has been going on for three years.
Former Sudanese Trade Minister Ali Gedo and other sources in the shipping industry told Reuters that the port, the main outlet for about 90% of Sudan's international trade and the final station of a regional oil pipeline, may lose its activity in the interest of transporting trade by land through the Ain Sukhna port in Egypt. .
Another former minister said that the interest of foreign investors in developing the port, which Sudan has long been seeking to transform into a center to serve neighboring countries that do not overlook the seas;
may weaken.
“Anything can happen, so people will stay away from Port Sudan for a while,” said the managing director of a local logistics and transportation company, adding that the blockade and unrest prove that the government is not fully in control of the situation.
The Beja Tribes Council, which represents some tribes in eastern Sudan that have long complained of neglect by the central government, imposed a siege that lasted more than six weeks until November 1 and threatened further steps.
At the same time, Sudan witnessed an earthquake due to popular protests.
The Beja Council demanded a new cabinet and the renegotiation of a comprehensive agreement concluded in 2020 aimed at ending conflicts in various parts of Sudan.
The council's moves negated efforts to improve efficiency at the port.
A United Nations report this month said the blockade had left 950 containers stranded at the port, while a port official said the port lost 45 million euros ($51 million) in revenue.
On the other hand, the capital, Khartoum, and other areas of Sudan faced shortages of fuel, wheat and other food imports.
At first, the Sudanese army made little attempt to intervene in order to end the siege of the Beja Council, and said that the protest was legitimate in the face of bad conditions in eastern Sudan, despite the fact that demonstrators in the streets of Khartoum often face tear gas and live bullets in some of them, and the army denies shooting.
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Opponents of the Sudanese army leaders say that the failure to act quickly may have achieved the army's goals, by creating a sense of crisis.
The siege did not end until after the recent political agreement in Sudan.
Last Thursday, the army, which denies any form of complicity, said it would compromise on the demands of the Beja Council, preventing a second blockade of the port.
Whoever is responsible for the port's troubles, the companies say they are paying the price.
"The private sector is paying the price for these political struggles," said a drug importer, adding that delays raise fees, and in some cases mean products arrive after their expiration date.
A Sudanese shipping agent who, like others contacted by Reuters, asked not to be named, due to political sensitivities, said that the delay means that the opportunity to export was lost on major export products such as sesame, groundnuts, cotton and gum arabic.
The agent said that two new shipping lines resumed the new reservations last Tuesday to ship import and export containers through Port Sudan, but the prices were 50% higher than before the blockade.
The managing director of the logistics company said that the shipping costs of Chinese companies that did not stop their activities doubled.
In light of the turmoil in Port Sudan and the rise in costs, officials at the Egyptian Red Sea port of Ain Sukhna said that they had witnessed an increase in the trade movement related to Sudan, without mentioning numbers.
A number of executives said that the companies are considering the transformation in a more sustainable way to cope with the uncertainty surrounding the movement of freight through Port Sudan.
The plans aimed at achieving economic recovery in Sudan included developing the port to become a regional logistical center for neighboring countries that do not overlook the sea.
Former Sudanese Minister of Infrastructure Hisham Ibn Auf said the port had in the past attracted the interest of investors from the UAE, Egypt and France.
In January 2019, International Container Terminal Services, based in the Philippines, signed a 20-year concession contract to manage a section of Port Sudan, but the agreement with the Port Authority was canceled in the same year after the fall of President Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled Sudan for three decades.
Cristian Gonzalez, one of the Philippine company's leaders, said the company "will be ready to return to the table" of talks once it receives the 200 million euros owed to it as the remaining advance fees.
A port official said that the port had received a new investment offer, and that he believed that trade flows through it would return to normal in 2022.
* (dollar = 0.8841 euros)
• A number of shipping companies were forced to stop their reservations through Port Sudan, the main international trade port and one of the vital sources of revenue for Sudan, which has been suffering from financial distress and has been trying to break free from the political turmoil that has been going on for three years.
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