Food prices in Mali and Sudan

This study looks at food prices in Mali and Sudan to see how they changed between 2019 and mid-2022, when the prices of global basic goods spiked, in part pushed higher by war in Ukraine.

Éditeur SPARC
Par Steve Wiggins Mary Allen Boukary Barry Neema Patel Elvira Mami Hussein Sulieman
Supporting livelihoods and markets Mali Sudan

This study looks at prices of basic goods – above all staple foods – in Mali and Sudan to see how those prices have changed between 2019 (pre-pandemic) and mid-2022, when prices of wheat, maize, oil and fertiliser spiked on world markets, in part pushed higher by war in Ukraine.

How did prices change? What drove price changes? What effects did higher prices have? What public responses were undertaken by governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)? We found:

What does this imply for policy-makers? Given price increases in Mali and Sudan were largely driven by domestic factors, four potential responses stand out, namely: ƒ

Economic growth, with broad-based agricultural and rural development, makes these aims easier to achieve. In both countries, growth is hindered by governments that are widely seen as illegitimate and not recognised internationally, governments that show few signs of wanting reform, either political or economic.

Outsiders need to work with local people and local groups who do their best to cope, and sometimes to thrive, in difficult circumstances.

In the short term, some households on low incomes lack the means to cope with higher prices – they need social protection.


Source URL: https://www.sparc-knowledge.org/node/184