The Agricultural Economy of the Sudan

Excerpts from the report Summary: The Sudan is almost exclusively an agricultural country. At least 90 percent of its 10.3 million inhabitants derive their livelihood from agriculture or animal husbandry. Also 90 to 95 percent of the value of external trade is from agricultural products, chiefly cotton. Production of some food crops--peanuts, sesame, durra, dates--also exceeds the country's consumption requirements, leaving a sizable surplus for export. The principal imported foodstuffs are sugar, tea, and coffee. These three items account for about 20 to 25 percent of total imports. Not only is the Sudan's economy an agricultural one, but it is heavily dependent on one cash crop--cotton. In most years, cotton and cottonseed account for 70 percent or more of the Sudan's foreign earnings and supply the government with the largest share of its revenues. Both long and short staple types of cotton are grown. However, the greater portion of total production is made up of long staple varieties grown almost entirely on large irrigation schemes. The short staple is grown chiefly in areas of rain cultivation. Other important cash crops include sesame and peanuts. Gum arabic is the only forest product exported extensively. Next to cotton, the most important place in the Sudanese economy is held by livestock, now numbering about 22 million head.