Sudan’s inflation rate inches upward in April, government hikes taxes on tobacco products
May 7, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Inflation rate in Sudan has increased slightly in April compared to the month before, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBoS) said in its monthly bulletin released today.
CBoS said that the index of telecommunication products jumped by 20.6% due to increases in cell phone prices while food and drinks index went up by 1.1%.
Overall, the inflation rate was recorded at 24.3% up from 23.2% in March.
Sudan has been struggling with double-digit inflation since secession of the oil-rich south in 2011 but it has succeeded in bringing it down from a high of 46.8% in July 2014 to 25.6% in November of the same year.
The 2015 budget has a target inflation rate of 25% which is close to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections of 21%.
In a related issue, the Sudanese cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal from the minister of finance to increase the surcharge and VAT on tobacco products.
Sudan relies heavily on tobacco taxes to fund the federal budget which unofficial sources says brings most of the tax collections.
The Secretary General of the Sudanese cabinet Omar Mohamed Saleh told reporters that this decision is in line with the government’s anti-smoking policy to improve the health indicators.
Sudanese officials say that the country ranks among the worst in the world in tobacco usage increases.
The health minister Bahr Idriss Abu-Garda accused tobacco companies of saturating the 2005 tobacco control law and said the costs of treating tobacco-related ailments cost more than taxes imposed.
(ST)