Gum Arabic sector sustains Huge losses
Sudan Events -Repot by Rehab Abdullah
The General Manager of the Gum Arabic Company in Sudan, Awadallah Ibrahim, has revealed that the Gum Arabic sector has sustained huge losses as a result of the current in the Sudan.
He estimated the loss in a statement to the Sudan Events to stand at billions of dollars during the current 2023 season.
He noted that the average annual production to be in the range of 100 thousand tons of Gum and 60 thousand tons of acacia. It is expected that the year’s productivity will decrease to less than a quarter of this quantity.
Awadallah pointed out that the war has greatly impacted the sector because it broke out in the middle of the season, and most producers and merchants were unable to harvest the crop and transport it from the production areas, in addition to the warehouses being destroyed, looted and plundered.
He added that this season was relying on Gum Arabic production in the states of White Nile, Sinnar, Blue Nile and Gadarif, but now these states have become under the threat of war as well.
He confirmed the impact of this on the production process, pointing to the impact of the fighting on the production areas in the states of Darfur and Kordufan, which means they will not be within the production circle in light of the escalation of the pace of battles.
The expert said he would expect weak production and therefore there would be no Gum Arabic exports. He warned against the war spreading to the Red Sea State, saying if this happens then it would be a “major disaster” if it leads to the closure of the sea port.
Awadallah explained that the price of a quintal of cleaned hashab gum this year in Rabak has reached (125) thousand pounds, and that of Taleh (56) thousand pounds. He stressed that the impact of the war extends to affect the prices of Gum Arabic abroad, and pointed out that the damage befalling the producers this year would be huge, the mildest of the ham is that the producers have not been able to prepare trees for production.
