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Subject: NYTimes.com Article: A Tree That Supported Sudan Becomes a War's Latest Victim
Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 15:46:33 -0400 (EDT)
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A Tree That Supported Sudan Becomes a War's Latest Victim
May 15, 2004
By MARC LACEY
KHARTOUM, Sudan, May 9 - Poor villagers have suffered most
from the war ravaging the arid west of Sudan. But distant
as the conflict may seem, the armed men on horseback who
loot and burn villages and brutalize the local population
here have also roiled corporate America.
The attacks, part of a conflict that has afflicted the
Darfur region since early 2003, have begun to disrupt the
collection of a rare tree sap, gum arabic, an essential
ingredient in everything from soft drinks to beauty
products and pharmaceuticals.
Used as an emulsifier, the sap keeps ingredients in
carbonated beverages from settling at the bottom. It
ensures that shampoo has the right consistency, and is used
to coat pills to keep them fresh. It gives buns a perfect
glaze and beer a thicker foam.
Since 1997, the United States has had economic sanctions in
place against Sudan to protest the country's links to
terrorists. But because gum arabic is so rare, it has been
quietly exempted at the urging of American business
leaders. Sudan provides more than two-thirds of the world's
supply of gum arabic, and the colorless, tasteless resin
collected here is considered top quality.
The problem now in South Darfur, a gum-producing region
where the violence has displaced more than a million
people, is that the poor agriculturalists who usually
collect the resin from the acacia trees that produce it
have been too scared to venture out. In addition, the
acacia trees are being cut down in large numbers by
displaced villagers in need of wood.
"It's a big problem," said Mohammed al-Hassan Ali, the
government forestry manager in South Darfur. "Last year's
harvest was down and we're very worried about this year's
harvest."
Production of the valuable gum fell about 60 percent in the
season that just ended, primarily a result of locusts and
too little rain, industry leaders say. But the insecurity
is only compounding the problem, they say.
The low supply means the many companies that rely on
Sudanese gum for their products, like Coca-Cola and Pfizer,
are paying considerably higher prices for it.
"We've seen reduced availability and higher pricing," said
Chris Berliner, vice president of the Importers Service
Company in Jersey City, which imports Sudanese gum arabic,
processes it and sells it. "It's dramatic - more than 100
percent more expensive."
The gum is such a vital ingredient in so many products that
Mr. Berliner and other American business leaders now track
the latest peace talks in Sudan and hope for calm.
Because of the low production, the price offered to the
local people who collect the gum from the trees has
increased sharply.
The gum is harvested, mostly by subsistence farmers, and
sold through dealers to the Khartoum-based Gum Arabic
Company Limited, of which the government has a 30 percent
share.
During typical times, 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) of
gum arabic will bring in about 40,000 Sudanese pounds,
about $150. Now, collectors can earn as much as five times
more.
The costs in America have increased significantly, as well.
A few years ago, industry officials said, a metric ton of
processed gum arabic cost about $1,500. The price is now
about double that, officials say.
American importers of gum arabic last faced a crisis
several years ago when Osama bin Laden, who lived in Sudan
in the 1990's, was linked to the industry. A State
Department official said there is no indication that such a
connection currently exists.
Oil is Sudan's biggest source of foreign currency, but this
is primarily an agricultural and pastoral country, with
about two-thirds of the population working in the fields.
The primary cash crops are cotton, ground nuts and that sap
from the acacia tree.
Until the 1970's, Sudan had more than 90 percent of the
arabic gum market. With the advent of new producers
elsewhere in Africa, like Chad and Senegal, and artificial
substitutes, that dominance has slid somewhat in recent
years to between 70 and 80 percent.
But there is something about the climate and the soil in
this part of the world that produces a resin that cannot be
reproduced, experts say.
Gum arabic comes from a particular type of acacia tree, the
Acacia senegal, which grows in the semi-arid areas of
sub-Saharan Africa, particularly between the latitude of 10
degrees and 15 degrees north, experts say. The trees can
grow elsewhere - there was an experiment to introduce them
in Texas - but the sap is not the same, experts say.
"We are proud that this is a Sudanese product," said Omer
el Mubarak Abuzaid, who has spent his career in the gum
arabic industry. "We know how important it is to industry
in the USA. We know they need it for their Coke."
To get the gum from the trees, local harvesters peel away
some bark and make small cuts in the branches. The sap
begins seeping out and several weeks later forms a rubbery
ball that can be plucked from the trees.
After collecting the gum, more cuts are made in other parts
of the trees. The process is continued throughout the
annual harvest season, which lasts from the fall through to
the end of April.
Kordofan, in the center of Sudan, is the major
gum-producing region. Darfur, in the west, produces about
10 percent of the country's gum. Across Sudan, about 5
million people make some portion of their income from gum
arabic, officials in the industry say.
Now, in some areas of Sudan, conflict is cutting into
business. Besides scaring off gum collectors, the
insecurity is driving villagers into the acacia forests,
where they chop down trees as fuel for their fires and as
building material for their huts.
Outside of Nyala, in South Darfur, a vast settlement of
displaced villagers sits atop what used to be an acacia
grove. Around the camp, for as far as the eye can see, are
stumps, many of which used to gum-producing trees.
"We can't prohibit them from cutting down trees," Mr. Ali
said. "It's life for them. But we can try to cut down the
destruction."
To do so, he has dispatched a community outreach worker,
Tawadud Abdallah Ali, to speak with camp dwellers about the
importance of the acacia trees.
During a recent visit to the Kalma camp outside Nyala, Ms.
Ali talked to residents about the effect of all the
chopping and urged them to reduce wood use by using mud
ovens for cooking instead of open fires.
"There were many trees here before," she said, scanning a
damaged forest. "It was crowded."
In the shade of one of the trees that was still standing, a
giant tabaldi, known for its fine juice, were two women
weaving straw baskets. They said that was how they made
ends meet now that it was too dangerous to go out to
collect gum arabic, which is known locally as hashab.
"With hashab, you can make a lot of money," said one of the
women, never looking up from her basket. "There's no money
with this."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/15/international/africa/15SUDA.html?ex=1085823193&ei=1&en=d9716a9b85e8a6f6
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