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Gum arabic -

Gum arabic is a water-soluble, dried extract of a tree called acacia. Gum arabic can only be harvested from two species of acacia that are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Sahel region -

Most gum arabic is found in the Sahel region, which extends from Senegal to Sudan. Its use has spanned thousands of years. In Ancient Egypt, gum arabic was used as an agent in the embalming process.

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Application -

Today, the use of the product is vast and plentiful, from its application in food industry products to paint and photography.

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Acacia -

At the end of the rainy season, gum arabic is harvested from mature acacia trees, namely A. senegal (the primary source of the product) and A. seyal varieties. These trees are usually somewhere between five and 25 years old during the time of harvest.

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Harvest -

Small incisions are made in the branches and stems of the trees. For the weeks following, the gum's sap leaks through the incisions. Air dried, it forms a little sphere that resembles a rose-colored crystal.

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Raw or refined -

Every couple of weeks or so, the gum is collected and left in the sun to completely dry. It’s then sold in its raw form or as a processed, refined product, turned into a powder or another dried form.

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Commercial use -

Gum arabic is sold all around the world, where it’s used in various commercial endeavors, as it’s an excellent emulsifier, stabilizer, and binding agent. Most is exported to the United States, Europe, and India.

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Coca-Cola -

The next time you take a sip of a Coca-Cola and taste it’s distinctive flavor, you’ll know that the preservation of its flavor is due to the presence of gum arabic.

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Critical component -

As you may conclude, gum arabic is a critical component to most of the processed things we buy. It’s also quite difficult to substitute.

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Political contexts -

Therefore, you might be able to imagine how areas that export the product with challenging political circumstances and even conflict can use gum arabic as a bargaining chip.

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Civil war -

Since the 2023 escalation of war in Sudan between its national army and paramilitary groups, gum arabic has been a hot topic surrounding the conflict.

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Pressure from multinationals -

The high demand of the product coupled by pressure from multinational firms has allowed companies to justify the purchasing of the produce through unconventional means.

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European Union funds -

The European Union, for example, implemented a project through France’s development agency to ensure that gum arabic continued to be produced despite the horrors of Sudan’s war.

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Continuous production -

Under the guise of supporting women and young people, the project states that due to the sheer dependence of the population (approximately 15%) on revenue from gum arabic, it’s an international obligation to ensure its continuous production.

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Collapse of services -

Harvesting communities have experienced dire difficulties, such as the collapse of communication, transportation, schooling, and even basic utilities.

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Optimizing commercialization -

While the EU recognizes these challenges, the gum arabic project focuses primarily on optimizing the product's commercialization.

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Gaps -

While rigorous reporting standards often accompany the dissemination of EU funding, it’s evident that in an area where corruption and violence prevail, there are gaps in their regulations.

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Commercial processing -

Large, multinational companies, such as L'Oréal and Nestle, depend greatly on gum arabic in their commercial processing.

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RSF forces -

Since April 2023, the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has taken control over the primary regions that produce gum arabic, namely Kordofan and Darfur.

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Fee paid to RSF -

Sudanese traders can only market gum arabic under the condition that they pay a fee to the RSF. This means that its circulation is conducted without proper certification, which would require the product to be conflict-free.

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Informal markets -

Simultaneously, the product is also being circulated in unofficial routes, particularly through “informal border markets.”

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Exploitation -

The RSF denies exploitation of the product, stating that it only collects a small fee for its distribution and that slander should be considered propaganda against the group.

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Smaller production -

Other nations, which hold a smaller production capacity in comparison to Sudan, such as Chad, Egypt, and Senegal, have pushed their production of gum arabic on the market.

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Source of supply -

Food industry insiders have shared that it’s nearly impossible to really identify at the moment the source of the product’s supply.

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Sourcing -

Traders are not forthcoming with sourcing information. The Association for International Promotion of Gums even issued a statement that the supply chain of the product is not effected by the conflict in Sudan.

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Smuggling -

Most major manufactures altogether refuse to comment on the matter, as smuggled gums along informal networks make their way to traders and, therefore, to the larger supply chain.

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Formal route -

Before 2023, the product would be sorted in Khartoum, transported to Port Sudan, and then subsequently shipped via the Suez Canal to its respective global destinations.

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Illicit exportation -

Since 2024, RSF-affiliated markets emerged along borderlands and to neighbors Central African Republic and Kenya, where the product is illicitly exported.

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Essential product -

Gum arabic is an essential product for the mass production of many products across industries. With a lack of certification and a nearly untraceable smuggling network, the supply chain issues mean producers cannot guarantee the product is conflict-free.

Sources: (Britannica) (European Union) (Reuters)

See also: Cosmetics through the ages: from ancient Egypt to the 20th century

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