Sudan conflict threatens supply of key fizzy drinks ingredient
The conflict in Sudan has left international consumer goods makers racing to shore up supplies of gum arabic – critical to the food, drinks and cosmetics industry.
The northeastern African country is the world’s largest producer of gum arabic, a resin tapped from the acacia tree.
It is a key ingredient in everything from fizzy drinks to candy and cosmetics, and is also used in the pharmaceutical industry.
About 70% of the world’s supply of gum arabic, for which there are few substitutes, comes from the acacia trees in the Sahel region that runs through Africa’s third-largest country, which is being torn apart by fighting between the army and a paramilitary force.
Twelve exporters, suppliers and distributors contacted by Reuters told the news agency that trade in the gum, which helps bind together food and drink ingredients, has ground to a halt.
Right now it’s “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.
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What is happening in Sudan?
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Footage shows scale of destruction in Khartoum
The current explosion of violence in Sudan comes after two generals fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists, which was meant to incorporate the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the military and eventually lead to civilian rule.
In 2019, Islamist autocrat Omar al Bashir was overthrown in a popular uprising. The army and RSF later jointly mounted a 2021 military coup.
But the relationship between the two factions broke down during negotiations to integrate and form a civilian government.
Gum arabic is used in fizzy drinks, where it prevents ingredients from separating
Wary of Sudan’s political instability, companies dependent on gum arabic, such as Coca-Cola and Pepsico, have long stockpiled supplies, some keeping between three to six months worth to avoid being caught short, exporters and industry sources told Reuters.
“Depending on how long the conflict continues there may well be ramifications for finished goods on the shelf – branded goods made by household names,” said Richard Finnegan, a procurement manager at Kerry Group, a supplier of gum arabic to most major food and drink firms.
He estimates current stockpiles will run out in five to six months.
It is a view echoed by Martijn Bergkamp, a partner at Dutch supplier FOGA Gum, who estimated between supplies would last for three to six months.
Alwaleed Ali, who owns AGP Innovations Co Ltd, a gum arabic exporting business, said his customers are looking for alternative countries to supply the product.
US-based Ingredion Inc, an ingredients supplier in Illinois, told Reuters: “We have proactive measures in place across our business to ensure the continuity of supply for our customers.”
Global production of gum arabic is about 120,000 tonnes a year, worth $1.1bn (£883m), according to estimates cited by Kerry Group.
Kerry Group and other suppliers, including Sweden’s Gum Sudan, said communicating with contacts on the ground has been difficult.
“Our suppliers are struggling to secure necessities because of the conflict,” said Jinesh Doshi, managing director of Vijay Bros, an importer based in Mumbai, India. “Both buyers and sellers are clueless on when things will normalise.”
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Reuters said PepsiCo declined to comment on supply chain and commodity issues, while Coca-Cola did not return a request for comment.
“For companies like Pepsi and Coke, they can’t exist without having gum arabic in their formulations,” said Dani Haddad, of Agrigum, a supplier.
Fawaz Abbaro, the general manager of Savannah Life Company in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, said he had purchase orders and plans to export 60 to 70 tonnes of gum arabic but doubts he’ll be able to due to the conflict.
He said: “It’s not stable even to get food or drink. It’s not going to be stable for business. All trading will be jammed for the time being.”
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
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Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine
‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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