Sudan Gum Arabic Exports Composition:Changes, Causes and Implications

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the changes that occurred in the composition of Sudan’s gum arabic exports and their causes and implications. The study depended on secondary data obtained from official government institutions for the period 1970-2016 which was divided into six sub-periods. Descriptive statistical analyses were done to analyze the changes in gum exports’ composition. Also a One-way ANOVA analysis for the comparison of means was conducted in order to test the statistical significance of the changes in the export shares of hashab, talha and processed gum. The Results showed significant changes in gum exports composition in Sudan during the six sub-periods of the study. The study also found that the competition from Chad and Nigeria and the liberalization policy had a positive impact on talha gum export share, while the financial and administrative problems that faced the Gum Arabic Company had significantly increased processed gum exports share. In addition, the study found that these increases in talha or processed export shares were always at the expense of hashab exports. The changes that have occurred in gum arabic exports composition were expected to have environmental and economic implications. The environmental aspects would include the cutting of Acacia Senegal trees in the northern sandy soils of the gum belt with its negative impacts of more degradation and desertification. Economically, these changes in exports indicated abandoning processed gum production and exports which meant loss of employment opportunities and loss of value added from exports of processed gum. The study recommended that: 1) government policies related to gum arabic should be conducive to the revival of processed gum production in order to benefit from the value added from gum processing through the reduction of taxes and fees. 2) Sudan should make serious efforts to fight against and cancel the resolution that changed gum arabic specifications and included talha gum.