Khalid Siddig

Market Linkages and Price Transmission in Sudan: Lessons from Sesame Markets Khalid Siddig

Sesame is most important agricultural export in Sudan, produced in several parts of the country, and exported by a state-owned enterprise. This book studies the linkages among its domestic markets and the movements of prices. It applies the cointegration analysis to monthly prices in four major markets and trading centers during the period between 1986 and 2000. The markets are Elgadarif, Elobeyid, Omrawaba, and Tandelti, which represent the different types of sesame and the different production areas. The book applies a model developed by Ravallion (1986). Major findings revealed that the four markets are only integrated in the long run, and the markets of western Sudan (Elobeyid, Omrawaba, and Tandelti) to be considerably interlinked. Elgadarif and Elobeyid markets are the drivers of changes in sesame price in Sudan. Accordingly, for an efficient market performance to be achieved, this book recommends improving the marketing infrastructure that crucially affect the cost of transporting sesame from the production areas to the trade and export centers and providing adequate storage capacities in the production areas.