Sudan's eruption into conflict has left international consumer goods makers racing to shore up supplies of gum arabic, one of the country's most sought-after products and a key ingredient in everything from fizzy drinks to candy and cosmetics... About 70% of the world's supply of gum arabic, for which there are few substitutes, comes from the acacia trees in the Sahel region that runs through Africa's third-largest country, which is being torn apart by fighting between the army and a paramilitary force...
...Companies dependent on the product, such as Coca Cola and Pepsico, have long stockpiled supplies, some keeping between three-to-six-months worth to avoid being caught short, exporters and industry sources told Reuters...Global production of gum arabic is about 120,000 tonnes a year, worth $1.1 billion, according to estimates cited by Kerry Group. Most is found in the "gum belt" that stretches 500 miles from the East to the West of Africa where the arable land meets the desert, including in Ethiopia, Chad, Somalia and Eritrea...

The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited companies to comment, only Vijay Bros and Nexira responded