On 21 February 2021, the Central Bank of Sudan devalued the official exchange rate of the Sudanese pound (SDG) against the US dollar from SDG 55 to an indicative rate of SDG 375 and began a flexible management of the currency by establishing an indicative rate on a daily basis. Banks and exchange agents are required to trade within a range of no more than 5 percent above or below the daily rates. The measure, which follows a previous devaluation of the local currency in March 2020, aims to further narrow the gap between the official rate and the parallel rate; on the parallel market, the value of the Sudanese pound against the US dollar had reached an historic low of between SDG 350 and SDG 400 per US dollar in February. The Government aims to stabilize the currency and halt food price spikes, which are to a large extent associated to the weakening of the Sudanese pound.

Prices of staplecereals, notably sorghum, millet and wheat, have been on the rise since late 2017, increasing at higher rates during 2020, and on February 2021 reached record or near-record levels, over 170 percent higher than their already elevated year-earlier values. In 2020, disruptions to marketing and trading activities related to the measures implemented to contain the spread of the COVID‑19 pandemic and to widespread floods, provided further upward pressure on prices.