RADRAN AGRO EXPORT.
GUM ARABIC
Gum Arabic, also known as “desert gold of Africa” is a natural gum made of the hardened sap of two species of the acacia tree; Acacia Senegal and Acacia Seyal. The gum is harvested commercially from wild trees throughout the Sahel from Senegal and Sudan to Somalia, although it has been historically cultivated in Arabia. The gum is obtained as dry exudates from the stem and branches of Acacia Senegal and/or Acacia seyal when the plant is injured.
Acacia gum is very soluble in water (it dissolves easily) and stabilises combinations of water, oil and other ingredients.
Gum Arabic is used primarily in the food industry as a stabilizer. It is used in printing, paint production, glue, cosmetics, various industrial applications including viscosity control in inks, pharma industry and in textile industries.
Uses of Gum Arabic:
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It is edible and is used in food industries as stabilizers.
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Gum Arabic is used as thickener, suspender, paint production (emulsifier), stabilizer, binder and encapsulating material.
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It is used in confectionaries, food, beverages, pharmaceuticals and chemical industries, glue and cosmetics.
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It is used in various industrial applications like viscosity control in textile industries and inks.
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Some countries used it to make a chilled, sweetened, and flavored gelato-like dessert.
Availability:
Nigeria is the largest producer of Gum Arabic in West Africa, and also the third largest world producer and exporter after Sudan and Chad.
There are over 1,100 Acacia species worldwide. However Acacia Senegal and Acacia Seyal are the most commercially exploited species.
Nigeria has three grades of Gum Arabic;
Acacia Senegal (grade 1)
Acacia Seyal (Grade 2) and
Combretum (Grade 3).
In the acacia gum trade, the quality of gum from Acacia seyal trees is generally considered as inferior to gum from Acacia senegal trees. Hence, Gum Arabic from acacia Senegal command premium price.