How the fighting in Sudan Cola, Pepsi and Co. can plunge into a crisis Two Italians pretend to be sick in order to be transported by ambulance

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme – this quip falsely attributed to Mark Twain is true again.

When Sudan was subjected to Western sanctions over the bloody conflict in Darfur in 2007, Sudanese ambassador John Ukec posed an undeniable threat to Lueth Ukec. He held up a bottle of Coca-Cola and made it clear: Sudan is the main producer of gum arabic – a binding agent that many products cannot do without. He bluntly shared that he could easily stop production.

The leverage was effective. The government has managed to get the sticky stuff off the embargo. Now the industry is in jeopardy again – this time for a different reason.

Export goods of great importance

Besides petroleum, gas, gold, cotton and sesame, gum arabic is one of Sudan’s main exports. The raw material is a substance extracted from the resin of acacia trees. The history of the sticky substance dates back to ancient Egypt. At that time, the dead were mummified with the natural product. Lenin is said to have been smeared with it last before being taken to the mausoleum. Today, the substance is used for a different purpose: food, medicine and cosmetics are “embalmed” with the natural product.

The edible glue – also called E414 on food labels – is used, among other things, as a binder or thickener. It almost has superpowers: in carbonated soft drinks, the substance prevents the sugar from sinking to the bottom. In sauces, the substance provides a firm consistency. In beer it strengthens the foam. It takes the bitterness out of the wine. In gummy bears, it prevents the sugar from crystallizing.

The substance is mainly used in the food industry, it is in well-known products such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Mars. The pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry also use the natural product as a binder or stabilizer. Typical examples: sugar-coated lozenges, mascara, eyeliner.

According to the online platform Observatory of Economic Complexity, the world trade in gum arabic was worth about $363 million in 2021. Sudan was responsible for exports of gum arabic worth $111 million in 2021, making it the eighth most exported product from the Northeast African country. It is estimated that between 60 and 80 percent of the gum arabic traded worldwide comes from Sudan. The largest buyers: France, the US, Germany and the UK. In other words, countries with food producers worth millions.

But not only Nestlé, Cola, Pepsi, Mars and Co. depend on the drug. It is estimated that about five of the 45 million inhabitants earn a direct or indirect income from the production of natural crystal. But for how long?

threat to the industry

After two decades of war and peace, new fighting flared up in Sudan this year. Since April, the army has been fighting for power in the country against the once-allied paramilitary unit Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Amid the fierce fighting, Sudan has seen the price of the commodity fall by some 60 percent.

“The clashes have undoubtedly had a negative impact on the gum arabic trade,” South Sudanese journalist Akol Miyen Kuol told Al Jazeera. He fears that if the fighting does not stop soon, production will come to a complete standstill.

In Sudan, the gum acacia tree grows on a long strip of 500,000 square kilometers stretching from western Darfur, near the border with Chad, to Al-Qadarif in the southeast of the country. The country’s main port is located in Port Sudan, in the northeast of the country.

The focus of the fighting is the capital Khartoum, where the export center is located. The Dafur region in the north, where one of the most important production locations is located, is also in the grip of violence. Near the province, 87 people have just been found buried in a mass grave, including 14 women and children.

According to journalist Akol Miyen Kuol, all major production areas have been directly or indirectly affected by the conflict. The transport is as dangerous as it is challenging. There should be a shortage of trucks. Many were destroyed or confiscated as a result of the crossfire, local residents told Africannews. Another obstacle: fuel is scarce at gas stations and has become almost unaffordable.

Even when residents are willing to make the risky journey, they often struggle to find transportation, Sahel analyst Eugene Puryear confirms to Al Jazeera. He continues: "Access to transportation has been significantly reduced and eventually the price of the fabric has fallen so much that it's not even worth putting it on the market."

William Lawrence, a professor of international affairs at the American University in Washington DC, confirmed to the Arab news channel that the fall in prices poses a serious threat to the industry. Sudan has dominated the rubber market since the 1950s, he says. Now buyers of the relatively cheap rubber can try to diversify their ingredients. But with what?

There are hardly any alternatives

The food and pharmaceutical industry cannot do without rubber. This became apparent in 2007 when the sticky stuff was removed from the US embargo. Analysts are already warning that unless a ceasefire comes soon, beverage and pharmaceutical companies around the world could be severely curtailed. Other important growing countries in the Sahel zone, such as Chad, Somalia or Nigeria, cannot meet the demand. These export only in small quantities.

Other substitutes can hardly step into the breach. "Pectin or corn fiber could be used in some products, but that doesn't match the benefits of gum arabic," Martijn Bergkamp, ​​​​​​a partner at Foga, a Dutch company that imports and processes Sudanese gum arabic, told The Wall Street. Log.

He's not alone in this view: "It might be possible to find a substitute for gum arabic, for example a starch-based stabilizer," estimates Sahel analyst Puryear. But this wouldn't happen overnight. The longer the conflict lasts, the greater the stress for affected companies, Puryear believes.