Sudan renews, expands import ban on Egyptian goods

CAIRO - 3 May 2017: The Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization (SSMO) renewed an import ban on 17 types of Egyptian goods and banned the export of three Sudanese products, according to Sudanese newspaper Alyoum Altali.

The list of banned imports included previously banned goods such as dried food, vegetables, fruits and fish, as well as other products, such as used paper, fireworks, used spare parts made of rubber and plastic, used tires, vehicles missing various information (manufacturing country, company and date, vehicle’s type, model and engine type), computer casing, electronic products and mechanical and medical equipment.

The banned exports included glue, charcoal and leather.

The statement did not mention the reason behind the ban.

It is not the first time Sudan has banned Egyptian goods. Last September, the neighboring country banned the import of Egyptian fruits and vegetables over claims they are not compatible with quality standards, triggering the anger of Egyptian politicians and parliamentarians, who accused the Sudanese authorities of inflaming the Halayeb and Shalateen clash.

Ties between the two countries have deteriorated over the past few years. The clash incarnated recently in a wave of sarcasm which went viral on social media and Egyptian TV channels over Sudan’s anthropomorphic sphinx and pyramids, igniting resentment from the Sudanese side.

Sudan had exported products to Egypt estimated at $591 million in 2016, according to the Sudanese Ministry of International Cooperation.

Sudan renewed sovereignty claims over the Halayeb and Shalateen region following the signing of an agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia in which Egypt relinquished sovereignty of two Red Sea islands to the latter.


"We will not let go of our sovereign rights to the Halayeb Triangle," Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told the parliament of Sudan in 2016, according to Ahram online.

The sovereignty dispute between Egypt and Sudan dates to 1956, when the Republic of Sudan gained independence from joint British-Egyptian rule.