How gum arabic is smuggled from Sudan

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Recommended by Richa Naidu, European Consumer Products Correspondent

How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola and M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan

A farmer carries collected gum arabic from an Acacia tree in the western Sudanese town of El-Nahud that lies in the main farming state of North Kordofan.

Gum arabic from an acacia tree in the western Sudanese town of El-Nahud. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

Gum arabic may not be a commonly known commodity, but it accounts for the livelihood of 15% of Sudan's population and is used to make household goods from Coca-Cola sodas to L'Oreal lipsticks and Nestle pet foods. About 80% of the world's gum arabic has for decades been tapped in Sudan's vast acacia groves and processed in Khartoum.

Nearly two years into Sudan's civil war, this in-depth story uncovers new details about how the country's Rapid Support Forces militia has taken control of most of the country's gum arabic market, charging a fee to protect shadowy traders that are smuggling product into Chad, South Sudan and other African countries.

Now, major ingredients firms and their buying agents are being offered trafficked, uncertified gum at low prices, and their procurement chains risk being infiltrated. This story is a stark reminder of how vulnerable consumer products are to geopolitical strife, and reveals how everyday shoppers around the world may be closer than they realise to Sudan's brutal civil war.

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