The gum arabic belt feeds the world's soft drinks
حزام الصمغ العربي يغذي مشروبات العالم
2026-07-26
Every fizzy drink you have ever had probably contained a Sudanese export. Gum arabic, tapped from acacia trees across the Kordofan belt, keeps sugar and flavour suspended in soft drinks, and Sudan supplies the large majority of the world total.
The belt shapes settlement. Villages across North and West Kordofan sit where the trees are, and the tapping season sets the rhythm of work and school attendance.
It is a rare commodity so essential that trade sanctions historically carved out exceptions for it. Few crops can claim their own diplomatic loophole.
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