Egyptian authorities have suspended cargo truck crossings into Sudan, triggering severe shortages and price hikes that ordinary Sudanese are struggling to absorb.
The decision followed the killing of two Egyptian truck drivers and the injury of a third on 12 October, when a 23-year-old Sudanese gunman opened fire on them in a popular market south of Khartoum.
The incident occurred only a day after scores of artisanal miners, including Sudanese nationals, were killed by Egyptian airstrikes in the border area between Egypt and Sudan.
According to the Egyptian army, the strikes were staged inside Egypt. However, unofficial Sudanese claims to the contrary have caused anger in different parts of Sudan.
Sudanese demonstrators took to the streets, particularly in Nyala—the capital of South Darfur State and a stronghold of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces which battles the Sudanese Armed Forces for control over Sudan.
Activists also called for a boycott of Egyptian goods, planning to blockade the desert road linking Khartoum to border crossings to halt incoming freight.
Cairo framed the suspension as a protective measure to shield Egyptian drivers from targeted violence.
Regardless of Cairo's rationale, the move has dealt an immediate blow to Sudanese consumers, threatening to trigger widespread inflation at an already precarious moment.
A recent viral video captured a Sudanese shopkeeper gesturing to his fully stocked shelves. Most of the goods, he noted, were either imported directly from Egypt or relied on Egyptian raw materials.
"Do you know what the decision to suspend the entry of cargo trucks from Egypt into Sudan means?" the trader asks. "It means that the prices of all these products will shoot up in the coming days."
Lifeline severed
Egypt serves as a vital gateway for Sudan's access to global markets, particularly as international sanctions continue to cripple Sudanese businesses.
Sudan's civil war, which has been grinding on since April 2023, has also put the brakes on a sizeable portion of the country's industrial and agricultural production, making it more dependent on imports for the needs of its people.
In 2025, bilateral trade reached $1.19 billion, with Egyptian exports accounting for $933.3 million.
In the first half of this year, bilateral trade reached $759 million, up from $570 million in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to the Egyptian government. Egyptian exports amounted to $595 million, almost 40% up from the export figure recorded in the first half of 2025, the government says.
Trade between the two countries partly owes its activity to their ability to develop a barter-style system that helps them avoid stringent international sanctions on Sudanese businesses and foreign currency shortages on both sides, specialists said.
However, cutting off Egyptian goods leaves the war-ravaged nation deeply vulnerable, forcing consumers to endure sudden supply bottlenecks alongside skyrocketing prices, Sudanese specialists said.
"This suspension is having far-reaching economic and human consequences," Sudanese political analyst Osman al-Merghani said.
Speaking to The New Arab, he added that the market has been paralyzed in almost all Sudanese states due to the dramatic rise that happened in commodity prices.
"Some commodities, including sugar and rice, have also completely disappeared, which is causing a lot of suffering to ordinary consumers," al-Merghani said.
Online hostility vs. diplomatic containment
The current disruption to bilateral trade comes at a time when a social media war is raging on between the Egyptians and the Sudanese against the background of the 11 October strikes.
Sudanese nationals commenting on the incident slam Egypt for killing what they describe as "innocent" artisanal miners and allegedly infringing on Sudanese territories, throwing light on growing anti-Egypt sentiments in some parts of the southern neighbouring country.
Egyptian social media users counter by defending their national army, and accusing the Sudanese of mining for gold inside Egypt, hence stealing the country's mineral resources.
The surge in anti-Egyptian rhetoric has heightened anxiety among the estimated 1,000 Egyptian nationals still remaining in Sudan.
Before the war erupted in April 2023, between 10,000 and 15,000 Egyptians lived in Sudan, mostly those married to Sudanese, working in Sudan or investing in the country.
An Egyptian national has recently posted a video where he implored Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to help him and others return safely to Egypt.
"The Sudanese are lying in wait for us on the road between Khartoum and the Egyptian border," the man said in the video which appeared on social media on October 14.
Most Egyptian nationals present in Sudan are reportedly concentrated in coastal areas under the control of the Sudanese Armed Force, especially Port Sudan where the Egyptian Consulate operates and business activities remain comparatively stable.
The governments of the two countries keep working, meanwhile, to contain fallout from the 11 October strikes.
On 16 October, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Sudanese Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim rejected attempts to harm their countries' bilateral relations, noting that those relations are based on shared respect and good neighbourliness.
Meeting the Sudanese minister on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington DC, the Egyptian foreign minister reaffirmed Cairo's unwavering support for Sudan's unity and territorial integrity.
This meeting came four days after the foreign ministers of the two countries underscored the importance of respecting each other's country's sovereignty, territorial integrity and borders.
Analysts in Cairo view these diplomatic containment efforts as proof of the high strategic value both nations place on bilateral ties.
They call for managing those relations wisely, especially in the presence of persistent attempts by some parties to sabotage them.
"It is clear that some parties work to widen the gap between the two countries and cause a rupture in their relations," Egyptian political analyst Islam Mansi said.
"These parties do their best to incite the Sudanese people against Egypt, a country bound by historical ties and a shared destiny with Sudan," he told TNA.