Sudan 'lost all sources of revenue' in the war: finance minister

Widespread destruction, massive military spending, and diminishing oil and gold revenues have left Sudan's economy in "very difficult times", Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim said, nearly three years into the army's war with rival paramilitary forces.

In an interview with AFP from his office in Port Sudan, Ibrahim said the government is eyeing deals for Red Sea ports and private investment to help rebuild infrastructure.

This week, Sudan's prime minister announced the government's official return to Khartoum, recaptured last year, but Ibrahim's ministry is among those yet to fully return.

The minister said Sudan "lost all sources of state revenue in the beginning of the war", when the Rapid Support Forces overtook the capital Khartoum and its surroundings.

Gold smuggling

"Most of the industry, most of the big companies and all of the economic activity was concentrated in the centre," he said, saying the heartland had accounted for some 80% of state revenue.

Sudan, rich in oil, gold deposits and arable land, is currently suffering the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with over half of its population in need of aid to survive.

Gold production is rising year-on-year, but "unfortunately, much of it has been smuggled... across borders, through different countries," he said.

Of the 70 tonnes produced in 2025, only "20 tonnes have been exported through official channels."

Agriculture

In 2024, Sudan produced 64 tonnes of gold, bringing in only $1.57 billion to the state's coffers, with much of the revenue lost to smuggling networks.

Agricultural exports have fallen 43%, with much of the country's productive gum arabic, sesame and peanut-growing regions in areas under paramilitary control (western Darfur and southern Kordofan).

Sudan's livestock industry, also based predominantly in Darfur, has lost 55% of its exports, he said.

Since the RSF captured the army's last holdout position in Darfur in October, the war's worst fighting has shifted east to the oil-rich Kordofan region.

Reconstruction

Sudan's oil revenues have dropped by more than 50% – its most productive refinery, Al-Jaili near Khartoum, severely damaged.

Determined to defeat the RSF, authorities allocated 40% of last year's budget to the war effort, up from 36% in 2024, according to Ibrahim, who did not specify amounts.

Yet the cost of reconstruction in areas regained by the army is immense: in December 2024, the government estimated it would need $200 billion to rebuild.

Authorities are currently eyeing public-private partnership, with firms that "are ready to spend money" including on infrastructure, Ibrahim said.

Public debt

Amid the ongoing war, Sudan's public debt has soared. In 2023, it reached 253% of GDP, before falling slightly to 221% in 2025, according to figures reported by the International Monetary Fund.

The Sudanese currency has also depreciated, going from trading before the war at 570 Sudanese pounds against the dollar, to 3,500 in 2026 in unofficial markets.

Ibrahim, 71, first joined the government in 2021 as part of a transitional administration.