By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NEW YORK, 2 May 2023 (IDN) \u2014 Despite wall-to-wall coverage on our news shows and radio broadcasts, wars being fought today around the world seem so distant, so remote. Soundlessly, they rage on, and peace seems far from near.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Could anything bring the war to our door?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer, you might not realize, is \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conflict in Sudan has left international consumer goods makers without a key ingredient for fizzy drinks and other things from chewing gum to pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About 70 per cent of the world\u2019s supply of gum arabic, for which there are few substitutes, comes from the acacia trees in the Sahel region that runs through Africa\u2019s third-largest country, and which is being torn apart by fighting between the army and a paramilitary force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Companies dependent on the product, such as Coca Cola and Pepsi, say they have stockpiled supplies, often keeping between three-to-six-months\u2019 worth to avoid being caught short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depending on how long the conflict continues, there may well be shortages of the finished product on the shelf. Current stockpiles could even run out in five-to-six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Global production of gum arabic, worth $1.1 billion, lies mostly in the \u201cgum belt\u201d that stretches 500 miles from the East to the West of Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right now, it looks impossible to source additional gum arabic from rural parts of Sudan because of the turmoil and road blockages, said Mohamad Alnoor, who runs Gum Arabic USA, which sells the product as a health supplement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mohammad Zarrag, an exporter of gum arabic, underscores the point: \u201cNo other ingredient can do what gum arabic does. People have tried but have not been successful.\u201d [IDN-InDepthNews]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Image: Sudan\u2019s gum arabica \u00a9Ashraf Shazly\/AFP. Source: ANBA Brazil-Arab News Agency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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