Sudan’s cotton industry: from economic strength to decline
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In Sudan, cotton cultivation began in 1911 and expanded with the Sennar Dam’s construction, becoming a major source of economic strength for the country.
The Gezira Scheme linked cotton farming to factories and trade, generating trade surpluses of approximately £61.7 million between 1947 and 1951. Recognizing the need to move beyond raw commodity exports, Sudan developed a spinning and weaving sector, with factories established in areas like Wad Madani and Al-Hasahisa to process locally grown cotton.
The Blue Nile Textile Factory in Wad Madani produced fabrics, uniforms, and medical gauze, demonstrating Sudan’s capacity for finished product manufacturing. Businessman Fath al-Rahman al-Bashir established several textile factories, and the Managil Textile Factory was uniquely owned by farmers’ unions, aiming to keep more value within the agricultural community. In the 1970s, UNIDO noted Sudan’s advanced textile industry, with plans for expansion to reduce imports and boost exports.
However, industrial capacity declined due to issues with electricity, spare parts, skilled labor, and planning, causing fabric production to fall from around 274 million metres in the 1970s to 13.72 million metres in 2003. This wasn’t simply a loss of production, but a disruption of an entire economic system encompassing farming, processing, and export, prompting a need to rebuild the value chain and regain lost expertise after periods of conflict.
