A Genocidal Militia in Sudan Controls a Key Ingredient in Coke and Pepsi \ stacker news ~food_and

I like stories like this because it's easy to forget how interdependent the world is.

Gum arabic acts as an emulsifier in consumer goods and household brands around the world. A Sudanese militia that the US has accused of committing genocide controls essential parts of the supply chain.

Gum arabic acts as an organic emulsifier in consumer goods around the world — in candy, medicine, soda and cosmetics. It grows across Africa — from Senegal to Kenya — but the millions of acacia trees that grow in a sandy 200,000 square mile belt across southern Sudan that is largely controlled by the RSF is the heart of production.

Roughly 70% of the 72,000 metric tons of gum arabic the European Union imported from around the world in 2024 came from Sudan. Although there was a slight 3% dip in Sudan’s exports to the EU over that period, it was filled by a nearly identical increase in exports from neighboring Egypt, a country that traditionally ships very little. Chad has also seen exports rise.

12 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 20 Mar

Indeed. If only people could realize that there are very powerful people that profit off of keeping us at each other's throats. We don't need these clowns.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @economy 20 Mar

Although the RSF may have influence in certain gum arabic producing areas, the global market is more complex and less dependent on a single group than the text suggests.