About 80% of the world’s gum arabic comes from the acacia trees of the African country.
The conflict in Sudan has disrupted the supply of a little-known but crucial ingredient in soft drinks, chocolate bars, red wine and many other products, raising fears of shortages later in the year.
The deadly power struggle between the East African nation’s top generals has left more than 500 dead, thousands injured and many displaced. A minor consequence of the fighting has been the obstruction of the supply of gum arabic, 80% of which is produced by acacia trees in Sudan.
The tasteless and odorless dried sap is often used as a stabilizer, thickener and emulsifier. Small amounts are added to some of the world’s most popular consumer products, such as Coca-Cola, M&Ms and Orbit Gum, as well as cosmetics and many pharmaceutical products.
Fighting that broke out in Sudan on April 15 has frozen the trade in raw gum arabic both within Sudan and beyond its borders, traders say. Immediate supply is not at risk and companies dependent on the product often have large stocks outside Sudan, but traders say prices for the substance have already soared.
“The problem is that if we run out of gum, we’re out of business,” said Osama Idris, managing director of Morouj Commodities UK, a Weston-super-Mare-based raw gum importer and processor. “Luckily we have stocks in the UK so we will continue, but if the war goes on for a year that is going to be a problem.”
Fighting between the Sudanese army, commanded by Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, a state-sponsored army led by Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has driven near half a million Sudanese from their homes. The battle in the capital, Khartoum, was particularly fierce and a series of ceasefires promised by the two generals were broken.
Mohamad Alnoor, owner of Falls Church, Va.-based Gum Arabic USA, which imports and sells Sudanese gum arabic, said the cultivation and harvesting of the substance, which occurs mostly in rural areas, does not have not been affected by the clashes so far.
But, he said, fighting in Khartoum, fuel shortages and the wider lawlessness unleashed by the conflict have made it virtually impossible to transport raw gum arabic to Sudan or export it to another country.
Most of the factories that process and clean chewing gum and the main market used by many traders are located in Khartoum and Omdurman, its twin cities across the Nile.The Red Sea city of Port Sudan, which usually handles most gum arabic exports, it has become a hub for thousands of displaced people trying to find safety in Saudi Arabia.
“I currently have a shipment in Khartoum in a place that is basically a hornet’s nest,” said Alnoor, who is currently stuck in the capital. “It’s ready to ship minus some Central Bank paperwork and I won’t leave until I have full possession of this shipment, or at least it will be stored or shipped to Port Sudan or somewhere more on.”
The global gum arabic trade was valued at around $363 million in 2021, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, an online data platform. The United States imported some 20,445 metric tons of the substance in 2021, worth about $66 million, according to the World Bank.
Large end-users of gum arabic, including beverage makers and confectionery producers, typically have six to 12 months’ supply, said Martijn Bergkamp, a partner at Dutch company FOGA Gum, which imports and processes Sudanese gum arabic.
“Companies with large market shares have already done business with an unstable country for a long time,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Nestlé, which uses gum arabic as a glazing agent and binding agent in chocolate and other products, said the company had not encountered any problems with its supply of gum arabic and had contingencies in case bottlenecks.
Coca-Cola, Pepsi and M&M maker Mars, which also sells Orbit gum, did not respond to requests for comment.
Daniel Haddad, business development manager at Agrigum, a UK-based chewing gum exporter and processor, said some local suppliers were offering prices 50% higher than before the war, with prices fluctuating by the day. to the other.
“If we list on Friday, that will have changed by Monday,” said Haddad, who says he was unable to obtain the legal documentation needed to ship products from Sudan. “Right now it’s kind of stuck,” he said.
Chad and Nigeria also export gum arabic, although in much smaller quantities. And while some products may use pectin or corn fiber as substitutes, none live up to the usefulness of Sudanese gum, said FOGA Gum’s Bergkamp.
The prevalence of gum arabic in popular consumer products could also complicate discussions about potential sanctions against warring parties. “There are a lot of companies in the gum arabic trade associated with the military,” Bergkamp said.
When the United States imposed sanctions on Sudan in the 1990s over then-leader Omar al-Bashir’s alleged support of international terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, President Bill Clinton created a loophole for gum arabic.
Bergkamp said he expects the product to start flowing through the supply chain once warring generals need the money. “Exporting chewing gum gives you dollars and with dollars you can buy weapons and so on,” he said. “So on the one hand there is no export yet because of the fighting, but as soon as they need the money they will (export and sell) the gum.”
Spokespersons for General Burhan and General Dagalo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
