Sudan inflation rose to 22.4 pct in March - Reuters

The African country is battling an economic crisis and analysts have said high food price inflation could stoke dissent against a background of high unemployment, a devalued local currency and U.S. trade sanctions.

Inflation has more than doubled since the government effectively devalued the Sudanese pound in November 2010 to curb black market activity - a measure that had no success.

Month-on-month inflation was 1.4 percent in March, the Central Statistics Office said in its monthly bulletin. The cost of food rose 1.3 percent in March compared with February. Meat costs rose 4.5 percent, while bread went up by 1.1 percent and milk products by 4 percent.

Sudan lost three quarters of its oil output of around 490,000 barrels per day when South Sudan became independent in July. Oil made up 90 percent of the country's exports until then.

The landlocked new nation needs to pay Sudan for exporting crude through its pipelines to a Red Sea port, but the countries have failed to agree on a fee.

South Sudan shut down its output in January to protest against Sudan taking oil as compensation for what it called unpaid fees. The row escalated after limited border clashes broke out between the two countries last week. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing. Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)