Sudan conflict leaves global companies in race for gum arabic
Gum arabic is seen on an Acacia tree in the western Sudanese town of El-Nahud that lies in the main farming state of North Kordofan. PHOTO | MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH | REUTERS
Sudan's eruption into conflict has left international consumer goods makers racing to shore up supplies of gum arabic, one of the country's most sought-after products and a key ingredient in everything from fizzy drinks to candy and cosmetics.
About 70 percent of the world's supply of gum arabic for which there are few substitutes, comes from the acacia trees in the Sahel region that runs through Africa's third-largest country, which is being torn apart by fighting between the army and a paramilitary force.
