Soaring fuel prices make life harder for workers in Sudan

Intercity bus fare rise

40 %

Sudan's Transport Chambers Union raised intercity bus fares by 40 per cent and minibus fares by 30 per cent this month.

A minibus driver in Port Sudan now spends one day in three queuing for petrol, sometimes for more than five hours.

A cleaner says transport costs now eat nearly half of her monthly salary of 400,000 Sudanese pounds (US$43), so she works three days a week.

Why the shortage

War damage cut oil production, and attacks on one oil field disrupted supply to the Khartoum refinery, which met about 60 per cent of petrol demand. An analyst also blames import rules that pushed some fuel importers out of the market.