Since April 2023, Sudan, the world’s leading producer of gum arabic, accounting for 70% of global gross exports, has been ravaged by civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo. This has turned farmland into battlefields and led to a sharp decline in the gum arabic harvest, resulting in an average price increase of 9.15% over the year.

This situation has attracted the interest of other countries producing this exudate of acacia sap, particularly Chad, the world’s second-largest producer, just behind Sudan and ahead of Nigeria.

Strong global demand

Gum arabic is Chad’s third most important export, after oil and cotton, and for more than 500,000 Chadian households, harvesting acacia sap is a crucial source of income.

In 2022, the country exported $30.6m worth of gum arabic to France, the US, China, India and Germany, its main customers. The country produced more than 42,000 tonnes of gum arabic in the same year, a significant increase from the 14,551 tonnes produced in 2010, according to data from the Gum Arabic Sector Observatory and the Forestry and Desertification Control Directorate. Most of this production comes from the Seyal variety of acacia, which produces friable gum.

Global demand is high as gum arabic is an essential raw material for the food industry, where it is mainly used as a natural emulsifier and stabiliser (under the name E414). It is also valued by the cosmetics and medical industries, in particular for its natural prebiotic properties, which encourage the development of probiotics (“good bacteria”) in the gut and is also used in the formulation of films and adhesives.

According to projections by the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the gum arabic market could be worth up to $2.24 by 2030. Chad is well placed to capitalise on this resource, but despite these promising prospects, will it be able to respond quickly to the infrastructural challenges it faces to increase its production and export capacity?

Need to improve infrastructures and quality standards

This is not the first time that Chad has used its neighbour’s crises to boost its exports. In the early 1990s, a crisis of governance rocked Sudan’s gum arabic industry, with the Gum Arabic Company’s monopoly on purchasing challenged after it was criticised for corruption and inefficient management. This period of unrest in Sudan coincided with a 5% increase in Chad’s exports, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). N’Djamena’s exports also increased during the Darfur crisis (2004-2005).

If Chad is to turn this temporary advantage into an engine of sustainable growth, it will have to face up to major challenges in terms of developing its infrastructure, improving the quality of its products and restructuring its industry.

According to the Agence Française de Développement, AFD (French Development Agency), the gum arabic industry in Chad is hampered by a “flagrant lack of communication between the various players” and “insufficient integration of quality standards” in pricing policies. According to the AFD, this situation leads to the adoption of different strategies by traders, which results in unequal remuneration for producers and is therefore a source of tension.

In terms of infrastructure, the precarious state of roads and the lack of water near the growing areas are affecting the sector’s ability to meet growing global demand. Albachir Ahmat, president of the Chadian Gum Arabic Exporters, underlines the urgency of the situation: “Without improvements, buyers will turn to other markets. We want to increase our production, but the lack of infrastructure is preventing us from doing so. Government support and financial assistance are essential if we are to overcome these obstacles.”

What’s more, the industry needs to be careful not to raise prices too quickly, which could lead customers to opt for cheaper alternatives such as starch. According to Charles Alland, CEO of French company Alland & Robert, which specialises in the production, processing and marketing of acacia gum, there is an urgent need to stabilise prices and improve quality to avoid such a disastrous scenario for the industry.