Decline in Sudanese Gold Exports to the UAE
Economic reports indicate that Sudan’s gold exports to the United Arab Emirates declined sharply over the past year due to the severance of political relations between Khartoum and Abu Dhabi.
A report published by Bloomberg on Thursday, based on figures from the Central Bank of Sudan, stated that Sudan’s gold exports to the UAE reached 8.2 tons in 2025, down from 22.2 tons in 2024. This means that the UAE’s share of Sudanese gold dropped to 56%, compared to 99% two years earlier.
According to a study conducted last year by the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in the United Kingdom, artisanal and small-scale gold mining accounts for the majority of Sudan’s gold production, most of which ends up in the UAE market, either directly or indirectly through neighboring countries such as Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, and South Sudan.
The study noted that control over gold has been one of the drivers of the ongoing civil war between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese government. It also indicated that competition between the UAE and Egypt in supporting opposing sides in the conflict is reflected in each country’s share of Sudan’s gold trade.
Egypt’s purchases of Sudanese gold rose last year to about five tons, valued at $417 million—an increase of roughly twenty times compared to 2024.
These figures reflect tensions between the Sudanese army and the UAE, which was Sudan’s largest trading partner at the outbreak of the civil war in April 2023. Sudanese authorities officially severed relations with Abu Dhabi last May, accusing it of supporting the Rapid Support Forces—an allegation the UAE has consistently denied, affirming that it does not support any side and calling for an immediate ceasefire and political transition.
Since last August, signs have emerged of difficulties faced by some ships carrying Sudanese goods in entering the UAE, which has also affected fuel shipments via Red Sea ports. Suleiman Baldo, director of Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker, said these developments “shocked Sudan’s economic system” and prompted officials in Port Sudan to seek alternative markets.
Despite the decline in exported gold quantities, the global rise in gold prices to record levels has kept total export revenues for 2024 and 2025 at similar levels. The value of shipments to the UAE reached $865 million in 2025, down from $1.5 billion in 2024.
Sudanese authorities indicate that these official figures do not reflect the true scale of trade due to widespread smuggling and unrecorded transactions, especially by artisanal miners. A Chatham House report noted that in recent years “most Sudanese gold ended up in the UAE, a global hub for gold trade, relied upon by the warring parties to settle financial transactions.”
Since the outbreak of the war, the Sudanese army, which controls the largest gold-producing areas, has sought to redirect export routes through Egypt, where a large portion is smuggled. UN experts have also accused the Rapid Support Forces of using unofficial gold sales to finance their operations.
