Sudanese gum Arabic production fall causes increase in prices at markets

KHARTOUM, May 22, 2004 (SUNA) — Minister of Foreign Trade Abd-al-Hamid Musa Kasha, presented a statement to the National Assembly last week on the increase of gum Arabic prices nationally and internationally, revealing the exerted efforts by his ministry to protect this strategic product from any hazards.

He also hailed the role of the Gum Arabic Company in providing social services to the production areas through the company’s various branches and called for removing all obstacles that hinders the company’s progress to regain its position in the international markets.

He also affirmed the significance of this strategic commodity saying that the competing African countries have no sufficient quantities of the Gum Arabic product to be qualified for the international markets competition.

He explained that the future of the Sudanese Gum Arabic is very promising as a substitute commodity for the Gelatine product, pointing out to the environmental impact of planting the acacia trees and its use as medical inputs for medical industry.

He said in the ministry’s 2004 working plan they adopted the stabilizing price policy for Gum Arabic at 20,000 dinars per ton, while adhering to the international standard in our products, though the international prices have increased to reach 2500 dollars per ton, compared with 1000 dollars last year due to the sharp drop in production and shortage in the strategic storage, while he attributed the local increase in prices to the locust invasion of the acacia trees which led to decrease in productivity.

The international markets demand of Gum Arabic is estimated between 40,000 to 45,000 tonnes while the production of Sudan this year from the acacia trees amounted to 15000 tonnes.