Gum arabic is produced in Sudan’s savannah belt, which stretches from the western border with Chad to Ethiopia in the east. “We now have markets in the Far East, Japan, the Gulf, China as well as America and Europe.” PROSPERING “We have new markets,” said Fatma Ramli, national coordinator of the association.
The jump in prices is partly driven by Sudan’s soaring annual inflation, which hit 46.5 percent in November, but producers also notice more demand from abroad compared to previous years. Last year, they produced about 40,000 tonnes. Sudan’s association of gum arabic producers estimates farmers will produce up to 80,000 tonnes of gum arabic in the 2012/2013 season, after enjoying plenty of rain in the often-dry savannah. It hopes rising demand, especially from fast-growing Asian countries, will help to soften an economic crisis triggered by the loss of three-quarters of its oil production when South Sudan seceded in 2011. This has allowed Sudan to remain a world power in gum arabic. The gum arabic trade hints at the growth which the country may achieve if it can find ways to mobilise more of its vast areas of arable lands and agricultural resources.īecause gum arabic is so important to the soft drinks industry and other products, the United States has exempted it from a broad trade embargo which Washington originally imposed in 1997 over Sudan’s human rights record. It is a rare export success story for Sudan, which has been plagued by ethnic conflicts, poverty and poor economic infrastructure. Used as an emulsifier to prevent sugar from crystallising in fizzy drinks, as a thickener in confectionery and as a binder for drugs, cosmetics and postage stamps, gum arabic is in high demand in many countries. “I bought today 25 sacks for around 10,000 to 11,000 pounds (around $1,500 at the black market rate),” he says, putting the banknotes in the suitcase of another trader who is preparing to seek more supplies of gum arabic from village farmers.īusiness is booming in the western Sudanese town of En Nahud thanks to rising global demand for gum arabic, a natural and edible gum taken from acacia trees growing in the area.Īdam paid about 440 pounds per large sack, three times as much as he paid two years ago.
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