Expert: Gum arabic second only to gold in financing Sudan’s war

By Suleiman Siri for Radio Dabanga

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has warned, as previously reported by Radio Dabanga, that Sudan’s war economy is helping to prolong the conflict, with the war increasingly fuelled by control over natural resources and trade routes, exposing global supply chains to serious human rights risks. It called on all parties to the conflict, as well as states and companies involved in the Sudanese gum arabic trade, to ensure compliance with international law.

The report focuses specifically on the trade in gum arabic – a key ingredient used in products such as soft drinks, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals – as a case study illustrating the negative impact of Sudan’s war economy on human rights. Although the value of gum arabic exports is relatively modest compared with other commodities, it remains one of Sudan’s most globally important exports. Before the outbreak of the conflict, Sudan accounted for around 70 to 80 per cent of the world’s raw gum arabic exports.

QUOTE ‘Gold is the more significant and direct source of liquidity, smuggling and military funding, while gum arabic generally functions as a supporting resource within the war economy…’ — Dr Abdelmonem Mukhtar, Executive Director of the Centre for Evidence and Data-Based Policy

A supporting resource

Dr Abdelmonem Mukhtar, Executive Director of the Centre for Evidence and Data-Based Policy, said gum arabic is important but secondary to gold in financing Sudan’s war. He argued that gold is the more significant and direct source of liquidity, smuggling and military funding, while gum arabic generally functions as a supporting resource within the war economy.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, Mukhtar said gum arabic is nevertheless far from insignificant, as Sudan supplied around 70 to 80 per cent of global raw exports before the war. Through looting, diversion and cross-border rerouting, he said, the commodity has become part of the cycle of illicit financing.

“In the case of gum arabic, the United Nations reported that at least 3,700 tonnes were looted between January and June 2024, and these quantities were redirected or remarketed through trade routes that concealed the commodity’s true origin,” he said.

Turning to gold, he added: “According to available reports, gold revenues reached around US$1.8 billion in 2025 from production of approximately 70 tonnes, while earlier reports estimated export earnings of about US$1.6 billion in 2024 from gold activity linked to areas under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces.”

Since the conflict began in April 2023, the gum arabic trade has increasingly been reshaped by the division of territorial control. Some quantities from areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces have been transported to Port Sudan for export, while large volumes from areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces have been rerouted through cross-border smuggling routes into neighbouring countries.

Commercial and industrial activities

Asked to what extent the exploitation of these resources could finance armed conflict, Dr Mukhtar said: “The exploitation of natural resources can significantly finance conflicts when control of territory, border crossings, warehouses and exports becomes a source of military revenue in Sudan.”

He added: “Gold is the most important and decisive financial driver, while gum arabic provides supporting liquidity and demonstrates how the war has extended into agricultural commodities and global trade routes. The United Nations establishes this link through converging evidence, including control on the ground, witness testimony, shipment tracking, export documentation, evidence of looting and smuggling, as well as images and information documenting transport routes and relabelling.”

Legal responsibility

The report highlights the role played by neighbouring and transit countries in the continued movement of Sudanese gum arabic. It warns that the commodity may enter customs or commercial export channels and, in some cases, be processed, documented or traded as a domestic product, making it difficult to verify its true origin.

Dr Mukhtar said the legal and ethical responsibility lies with importing companies and states to ensure they do not contribute to abuses through their supply chains and to apply enhanced due diligence in conflict-affected areas. This includes verifying the true origin of products, scrutinising intermediaries, reviewing transport routes, and preventing “origin laundering” or relabelling that conceals the commodity’s Sudanese source.

“If it is established that a supply chain contributes directly or indirectly to financing parties to the conflict, regulatory, civil or ethical responsibilities may arise, in addition to reputational and commercial risks,” he said.

Asked what practical measures are needed to halt this source of financing, Dr Mukhtar said the Sudanese government should establish a strict national system to track natural resources from production to export, strengthen customs and financial oversight, document intermediaries and border crossings, and link these measures to a verifiable digital registry.

He also recommended that local and international companies adopt digital traceability systems, audit supply chains and intermediaries, assess risks at every stage, and suspend purchases where there are credible indications of links to looting or the financing of armed groups. Safe and effective complaints mechanisms for those affected should also be established, he said, because good governance depends not only on oversight, but also on fairness and protection.