COMMODITY IMPORT PROGRAM

This Commodity Import Progam is one component of a larger A.I.D. program which includes Development Assistance, P.L.480 Assistance, and the implementation of various African Regional Projects. USAID"s Supply Management Officer will have direct responsibility for program administration under supervision of the USAID Director and in cooperation with AID/W and REDSO support officers. Among GOS entities, the Ministry of National Planning will allocate grant proceeds and will have overall responsibility for administrating the grant. The Ministry of Cooperation, Commerce, and Supply will issue import licenses and set up import controls and regulations. The Bank of Sudan will approve import licenses, allocate foreign exchange, and manage the account for counterpart generation. Disbursal of counterpart funds generated by the grant will be jointly determined by GOS and USAID and will support the GOS-International Monetary Fund stabilization program. All commodities listed in A.I.D."s Commodity Eligibility Listing (as revised in 1978) will be eligible for financing under the grant. According to present plans, most funds will be disbursed for: (1) wheat for domestic consumption; (2) agricultural requirements such as spare parts, tractors, and wheat seed needed to help Sudan attain wheat self-sufficiency; (3) requirements for upgrading the nation"s transportation and communications infrastructure, including aircraft and railroad equipment spare parts; (4) requirements for public and private industrial expansion, such as tallow, tin plate, iron and steel, spare parts, etc., (which expansion will reduce, over the long term, the demand for imported products); and (5) requirements in other areas such as spare parts for sewage systems and medical and scientific equipment.