Sudan gum arabic trade fuels war economy, UN warns

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report warning that Sudan’s gum arabic trade is sustaining the country’s civil war. Sudan supplies roughly 70‑80% of global crude gum arabic, a commodity used in soft drinks, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The report says both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) exploit the trade, using export revenues and smuggling routes through neighboring states to fund military operations. Incidents such as the looting of the Gum Arabic Exchange and its warehouses in El‑Nuhud in May 2025 illustrate how the commodity’s value chain is exposed to looting, extortion, arbitrary detention and threats to workers.

UN human‑rights chief Volker Türk urged states, businesses and other actors linked to the gum arabic value chain to ensure compliance with international law and to conduct rigorous due‑diligence, saying “companies cannot continue business as usual when sourcing from conflict‑affected value chains.” The office called for stronger traceability, regulatory oversight and accountability to prevent the commodity from further fueling the conflict, which has killed an estimated 200,000 people and displaced over 11 million.