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INTRODUCTION
Given the rapidly changing humanitarian context in Sudan, the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI) was established under the guidance of the Sudan Cash Working Group (CWG) to inform cash-based interventions and to gain a deeper understanding of market dynamics in the country. The JMMI aims to inform market-based programming
in Sudan through monthly monitoring
of prices of selected food and non-food items (NFI) as well as other critical market indicators.
Marketplaces across Sudan are assessed through two different channels: (i) in some state capitals, prices of food items are monitored by the World Food Programme (WFP), (ii) in other locations, prices and other critical market indicators are recorded every month by JMMI partners through i nterviews with purposively sampled retailers. Data for the latest round of the JMMI was collected from 3rd to13th July.
The factsheet presents an overview of median prices for food and non-food items (NFIs) in the main markets of the localities assessed, a comprehensive breakdown of the cost of the interim Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB), and the Market Functionality Score (MFS) for the markets assessed at locality level.
Key Findings
- Overall, the highest median prices for the Minimum Expenditure Baskets (MEB) were observed in South Kordofan and localities in the Greater Darfur region (South, East, and Central Darfur). The most expensive MEB was recorded in Ar Reif Ash Shargi locality in South Kordofan State (489,208 SDG) for the MEB without top-up items while the highest MEB with top up was recorded in Nyala Janoub in South Darfur (637,407 SDG) followed by Ar Reif Ash Shargi (631,958 SDG).
- The median cost of the food items in the MEB indicated an increase of 57% from June 2024 (132,021 SDG) to July 2024 (207,288 SDG). This can be attributed to depreciation of Sudanese currency, limited movement of goods due to insecurity and a spike in the cost of the local food basket. The most expensive food components of the MEB were reported in Dilling in South Kordofan, (330,322 SDG) due to the partial or complete unavailability of commodities. The lowest food prices, in contrast, were reported in Reifi Wad Elhilaiw, Kassala state (133,425 SDG).
- The median cost of the non-food items (NFI) in the MEB decreased by 17% from June 2024 (103,840 SDG) to July 2024 (85,951) across the assessed localities. The most expensive NFI component of the MEB (without top-up items) was reported in Kosti, White Nile (216,552 SDG) and the lowest in Abu Jubayhah, South Kordofan (58,079 SDG).
- Overall, markets tended to be least functional in South Kordofan, East Darfur, South Darfur and Central Darfur state where 7 out of the 22 assessed markets scored less than 50 out of the maximum total score of 100. Additionally, The findings from
this assessment show that the high prices of items, low affordability, low accessibility, resilience gaps, and poor infrastructure negatively impacted the functionality of the markets.