Sudan pound depreciates after UAE flight ban hits gold exports

The Sudanese pound has shed nearly two-fifths of its value after a de facto embargo on flights from the army's temporary capital Port Sudan into the United Arab Emirates disrupted the vital gold trade, traders and Sudanese officials said.

The army relies on the UAE for hard currency from gold exports but also accuses it of backing the rival Rapid Support Forces paramilitary in a two-and-a-half-year conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions.

The UAE, which denies backing the RSF but has increasingly fraught relations with the army-led government, stopped in early August all commercial flights from Port Sudan, the nation's main conduit for international trade, according to the Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority and flight tracking data.

It also halted shipping traffic via UAE ports to and from Sudan, according to shipping notices and five industry sources.

90% of Sudan's gold exports end up in UAE

A resulting decline of legal gold exports from areas under the Sudanese army's control drove the pound's value down from 2,200 to 3,600 per dollar, three gold and currency traders said.

It was worth 600 before the war began in April 2023.

Authorities in the UAE, which is the world's second-largest gold trading hub, did not respond to requests for comment.

According to Sudanese central bank data, the UAE imported almost 90% of Sudan's legal gold exports, about 8.8 tonnes, in the first half of 2025. These exports brought in almost $840 million, Sudan's largest export by far.

Alternative gold markets

The Sudanese government has used these exports to finance imports of strategic commodities like fuel and wheat, prices for which have shot up since August in army-controlled territory, according to residents.

Suliman Baldo, head of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker, said Port Sudan authorities and traders had been exploring pathways for alternate gold markets in Qatar, Oman, Egypt and Saudi Arabia but none had worked out so far.