Coca-Cola ingredients may fund the war in Sudan

Western consumption of lesser-known wooden gum, used in everything from Coca-Cola and Nestle pet food to L’Oreal lipstick and M&M sweets, could fund both sides in Sudan’s fierce civil war.

Arabic gum, derived from the sap of acacia trees, is widely used as a stabilizer, thickener and binder. Financial news site Finshots said that for the global $1 billion consumer companies, “uninterrupted access to this critical ingredient is unnegotiable.”

Approximately 80% of Arabic is harvested in Sudan, with acacia trees extending from the border to the border. However, the sap is “trafficked by rebels” in the war-torn country, industry sources told Reuters. This is to “complicate the efforts of Western companies” to free supply chains from catastrophic conflict.

Ancient sap, clear quality

Humans have used Arabic for thousands of years, biotechnology professor Asgar Ali wrote in conversation. The earliest recorded date of use date dates date back to 2000 BC when ancient Egyptians “adopted it with food, hieroglyphic paints, and mummified ointments.”

The “clear quality and water solubility” of gum means it is used today in a variety of sectors, including medicines, cosmetics, textiles, food and drinks. And Sudan has its “spread acacia forest” and “liberalised” market, and is a “critical producer of processing and exports” and “critical player.”

However, for decades, Sudan’s gum-Arabian industry has “favoured political instability, civil war and economic challenges.” Since the start of the current war, exports have been “severely affected.” If the battle continues, your stockpile may run out.

“Funding directly to the battle”

When the US approved Sudan in the 1990s on suspicion of support for the then-Omar al-Bashir terrorist attacks, President Bill Clinton created a special exemption known as the E414 for Arabic trade.

Ten years later, Sudan “facing Western pressure and sanctions on the bloody conflict in Darfur” gum Arabic was used as “leverage,” Al Jazeera said. The US ambassador of Sudan famously posted at a press conference by holding up a bottle of Coca-Cola and declared, “We could stop Arabic gum and we would all have lost this.”

Since 2009, international pressures to liberalize trade from government control have increased, Finshot and private groups have said they have “in the photo.” A civil war broke out between the government’s Sudanese Army (SAF) and the paramilitary rebel group, the Rapid Pro-Support Forces (RSF). And last year, the RSF, accused of ethnic cleansing and genocide, “has gained extensive control of trade,” said the gum spawning area.

Currently, SAP is “a significant source of funding for both parties,” the Wall Street Journal said. “AK-47 Totting” RSF fighters control major agricultural routes and collect money from traders, while the Sudanese army, which runs the Debakut government, “collects taxes and other tariffs.” Proceeds from exports “will directly fund this fight,” said Sudan’s Academic Rabby Abdelati.

However, he said few Western companies are taking aggressive steps to avoid Sudanese gum Arabic. Some argue that doing so will “harm hundreds of thousands of Sudanese people who rely on SAP” amid the growth of hunger.

But it is also logistically difficult. RAW products “were on the way to their Sudan neighbors without proper certification,” a source told Reuters. Recently, traders from low-producing countries such as Chad and Senegal, or “lively exported before the war” — Egypt and South Sudan — have begun offering “actively” at low prices, without proving that they are conflict-free.”

“Today, Sudan’s gum, I’d say that everything is smuggled,” said Herve Canevet, a global marketing specialist at Eco-Agri, a food and seasoning supplier, because there is no real authority in the country.

Both Nestlé and Coca-Cola declined to comment on Reuters, while L’Oreal and M&MS maker Mars “did not return requests for comment.”