Peanut traders baffled by Sudan export ban on key cash crop
Peanut traders baffled by Sudan export ban on key cash crop
KHARTOUM “” Sudan has been a top producer of peanuts for so long that the nutritious variety is called the "Sudani" “” but a government export ban has left traders reeling.
Rimaz Ahmed, commercial director of Abnaa Sayed Elobeid, one of Sudan's major agricultural export companies, was stunned by the sudden decision of the trade ministry to ban the export of raw peanuts.
The government says it wants Sudan to process the nuts inside the country to earn more money.
But traders said they were not given time to prepare.
"It's a shock because we were not warned," Ahmed said, of the April 1 restrictions. "Overnight, we lost important markets. Immediately, India replaced us".
The two main customers for Sudan's peanuts were China and Indonesia.
On the wall of Ahmed's office, a poster in English praising
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