Agreement made to stabilize gum arabic supplies
An agreement has been reached to counteract the supply weakness and price increase which arose from the gum shortage in 2003 along with the political unrest.
20/06/05 Three Gum Arabic producing countries, international distributors and international trade organizations have agreed to work together to stabilize the Gum Arabic supplies and availability on a worldwide basis. Representatives from Sudan, Chad and Nigeria, representatives of AIPG (Association of the International Promotion of Gums), FAO, the World Bank and NGARA (Network for Natural Gums And Resins in Africa) were present at the meeting.
An agreement has been reached to counteract the supply weakness and price increase which arose from the gum shortage in 2003 along with the political unrest.
All involved parties made clear their determination to take specific measures to make sure that their global clientele will not be deprived of ample quantities of Gum Arabic (also named Acacia Gum) at fair price levels and with substantial information about market developments. A catalogue of concrete targets and practical mechanisms to ensure a rapid progress of the various points has been put into place. It has been decided to build up a security stock amounting to one year's crop quantity in each of the main three exporting countries. Progress of actions will be evaluated at regular meetings, the first of which is planned in about three months.
As Mr Hinrich Wolff, President of AIPG, says: " A global consensus plus a strong commitment plus a concerted action on all operational levels is the basis we have built up at the Khartoum meeting to ensure the future of Gum Arabic." Mr Hinrich Wolff is Senior General Manager at Alfred L. Wolff (Germany), a company with more than a century of dedication to Gum Arabic (Acacia Gum) as a natural product and a versatile ingredient for various industrial applications. "I am confident that we are going the right way in joining forces to create credibility and trust among the Gum Arabic users while securing all stages of the supply chain, from the Acacia tree to the processing units of the worldwide industry", he says.
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