Sudan - Foreign trade

Sudan relies on agriculture and animal husbandry for its export commodities. The most important exports are oil seeds, especially sesame (22%), cotton (17%), and sheep (12%). Other exports include gold (7.6%), vegetable oil (6.4%), crude vegetable materials (5.3%), and sugar (3.7%). As of 2000 it was expected that the development of oil reserves estimated at over 211 billion barrels might change Sudan's foreign trade situation. In 2000, Sudan imported about $17 million worth of irrigation materials from China.

In 1998 Sudan's imports were distributed among the following categories:

Consumer goods	8.1%
Food	12.3%
Fuels	10.3%
Industrial supplies	36.7%
Machinery	16.8%
Transportation	15.3%
Other	0.5%

Principal trading partners in 1998 (in millions of US dollars) were as follows:

COUNTRY	EXPORTS	IMPORTS	BALANCE
Saudi Arabia	129	222	-93
United Kingdom	80	330	-250
Egypt	40	54	-14
Italy	39	54	-15
India	23	107	-84
France	21	94	-73
Netherlands	19	52	-33
China (inc. Hong Kong)	19	268	-249
Korea	17	45	-28
Japan	14	146	-132