SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Financial Times – Sudan loses out on wealth from gum arabic harvest

26/1/2021: Financial Times – Sudan loses out on wealth from gum arabic harvest, by David Pilling

 The FT’s feature on Sudan’s gum Arabic industry reports that European producers monopolise the value of one of Sudan’s biggest exports. While Sudan accounts for nearly 70% of the world’s raw exports, 90% of the income from exports of processed gum go to European producers.

“Sudan does not only have an advantage, we almost have a monopoly,” says Amjed Farid, assistant chief of staff to Sudan’s prime minister. “But corruption and mismanagement of the previous regime has prevented us from taking advantage of this great wealth.”

Osama Daoud Abdellatif, chairman of the DAL group, Sudan’s biggest conglomerate, said “this market is dominated by companies who have controlled it for years.” He added that: “Sudan has been exporting raw gum arabic for decades and some French and Irish companies make all the money. They are not going to make it easy for us.”