Turmoil in Sudan: Implications for the Global Gum Acacia Supply Chain

Sudan produces approximately 80% of the world's supply of gum acacia, harvested from Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal trees in the Sahel region. For food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and confectionery manufacturers who rely on this ingredient, political and military instability in Sudan is a supply chain risk with direct implications for availability and pricing.

What happened

Sudan's political crisis escalated in 2022 with widespread protests against the military government and a violent crackdown. The situation reached a critical point on April 15, 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, Omdurman, and Port Sudan, disrupting normal economic activity across the country, including the harvesting, processing, and export of gum acacia.

Impact on supply and pricing

The disruption has affected gum acacia supply through several mechanisms. Harvesting in rural Sahel communities is labor-intensive and requires stable security conditions; violence and displacement directly reduce the harvest. Transportation infrastructure used to move gum from interior areas to Port Sudan for export has been disrupted. The ability of international trading houses to operate safely in the country has been constrained.

The knock-on effects include tighter supply availability, longer lead times, and pricing pressure as competing buyers seek to secure forward inventory.

How PAT is managing this

PAT's gum acacia supply runs through Willy Benecke in Hamburg, a German company with over 70 years of direct-origin relationships in Sudan and other producing countries across the Sahel. Willy Benecke maintains relationships with multiple origin sources and holds processed inventory at their SprayCom facility, providing a buffer against short-term harvest disruptions.

PAT maintains North American inventory of gum acacia to reduce the lead time exposure our customers face. We recommend customers with significant gum acacia requirements discuss forward inventory positions with us, particularly during periods of elevated supply uncertainty.

Willy Benecke sources from multiple origins across the Sahel, giving PAT supply diversification that single-origin buyers do not have.