weighted score 7.6 · nine dimensions
Country Risk Profile
Sudan
Sourcing risk, regulatory exposure and audit intelligence for Sudan-origin supply chains.
Forced & child labour
8
Civil war has created widespread forced labour, forced recruitment, and child soldier use by both SAF and RSF. Artisanal gold mining uses forced and child labour extensively.
Worker rights & FOA
8
No functioning state institutions to protect worker rights. Freedom of association non-existent in conflict zones. Trade unions effectively non-operational.
OHS & audit transparency
8
Zero audit access across most of the country. No functioning occupational health and safety regulation or enforcement. Conflict zones are completely opaque.
Food & product safety
7
Food safety regulatory capacity collapsed. Sudan faces acute food crisis with famine conditions in multiple regions. No functioning product safety standards enforcement.
Environmental & regulatory
6
Gum arabic production carries EUDR exposure. Artisanal gold mining causes severe mercury contamination. Environmental regulation non-existent in practice.
Governance & anti-corruption
9
TI CPI 2025: 14/100. Gold funds both warring factions. UAE backing RSF, Egypt backing SAF. State institutions have effectively collapsed. Among the most corrupt countries globally.
Tariff & preferential access
5
EBA eligible as LDC but EU sanctions and conflict make trade access largely theoretical. Arms embargo in force.
Non-tariff barriers
8
EU and US sanctions create severe non-tariff barriers. Gold and gum arabic supply chains face conflict mineral and forced labour screening. Practically unsourceable for compliant buyers.
Supply chain traceability
9
Traceability is effectively impossible. Country split between warring factions, no functioning customs or trade documentation systems across most territory. Gold supply chain entirely opaque.
Labour & Social Risk
Labour & Social Risk
- Forced labour risk
- Civil war since April 2023 between SAF and RSF has created conditions for widespread forced labour, forced recruitment, and exploitation. Both armed groups documented using forced civilian labour. An estimated 33.7 million people need humanitarian aid in 2026.
- Child labour
- Both SAF and RSF documented recruiting child soldiers. Pre-war child labour rates were already among the highest in Africa, concentrated in artisanal gold mining, agriculture, and domestic work. Conflict has dramatically worsened conditions.
- Audit limitations
- Independent social compliance audits are effectively impossible across most of Sudan. RSF-controlled western regions and active conflict zones have zero audit access. Even SAF-controlled areas around Port Sudan have severely constrained access.
- ILO conventions
- Sudan has ratified core ILO conventions but enforcement capacity is non-existent due to state collapse. No functioning labour inspection system operates across most of the country.
EU Regulatory Exposure
EU Regulatory Exposure
- GSP status
- Sudan is eligible for EU Everything But Arms (EBA) preferences as an LDC. However, active conflict and sanctions severely limit any practical trade flow.
- EU sanctions
- EU restrictive measures on Sudan include arms embargo, asset freezes, and travel bans on designated individuals. Additional designations following the 2023 conflict escalation.
- EUDR exposure
- Sudan produces gum arabic (approximately 70% of global supply pre-war). Conflict has disrupted production but gum arabic supply chains carry deforestation-linked due diligence requirements under EUDR.
- EU Forced Labour Regulation
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 applies from December 2027. Sudan-origin goods face near-certain challenge under Article 5 investigations given documented forced labour and zero audit access.
- Gold supply chain
- Sudanese artisanal gold — funding both sides of the conflict — is a major conflict mineral concern. UAE is the primary gold transit route. EU importers face severe due diligence obligations under conflict minerals regulation.
Logistics & Supply Chain
Logistics & Supply Chain
- Primary export corridor
- Port Sudan (Red Sea) is the only functioning major port, controlled by SAF. Western and southern Sudan are effectively cut off from international trade routes.
- Key transit chokepoints
- Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb strait, Suez Canal
- Infrastructure status
- Road and rail networks severely damaged by conflict. Internal logistics effectively non-functional across large parts of the country. WFP has cut rations by 70% due to access constraints.
- Country split
- SAF controls east and north (including Port Sudan). RSF controls most of western Sudan (Darfur, Kordofan). Khartoum remains contested. This territorial division makes unified supply chain operations impossible.