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Gum arabic has regained its dietary fiber status in the United States, a status lost in 2016, with the key to new market shares for this dried acacia sap, grown in Africa.
This is a decision that has been awaited for several years by manufacturers. And for which they fought so hard. Because it is on the basis of clinical studies that they commissioned, and following several citizen petitions, as is customary to do in the United States, that gum arabic has once more obtained the label of “dietary fibre”, lost in 2016 following a change in regulations in the country.
This new recognition of the biological benefits of dried acacia sap now opens up new economic opportunities for players in the sector: the United States buys regarding a third of the gum marketed in the world in powder form.
A green light for new dietary products
The French leader in the transformation of acacia gum, the Nexira group, therefore naturally expects demand which might rise in the coming years, even if “growth is hard to gauge in an already booming industryunderlines Mathieu Dondain, the general manager. The non-confirmation of this status would have curbed the sector, explains the manufacturer, whereas today with this recognized “quality” of fiber, a whole range of “healthy” products will be able to be reformulated or developed. Some are ready and are already in the starting blocks of manufacturers to be placed on the American market, which is very fond of dietary products.
The “fiber” label, which implies “good for digestion”, will also benefit food giants who will be able to add a “health” value to their labelling. This concerns in particular the most consumed sodas in the world or manufacturers of cereals and other biscuits and confectionery. Because the gum is present in a multitude of foods thanks to its qualities of emulsifier, texturizer, or even sugar-coating agent, natural. Especially since it is better tolerated at high doses – over 5 g – than other fibers, hence its designation as “gentle fiber”.
What impact for prices?
If there is growth in demand, it should be a boost for those harvesting the gum. At present, only a small percentage of acacias is exploited in the Sahelian band, in the fifteen or so producing countries, Sudan in the lead. The limit of an increased production being the mode of exploitation, because the acacia does not push in plantations, but on very vast geographical zones.
Thanks to the new openings that are emerging, the Alland et Robert group, the other player that counts on the French market, hopes to be able to multiply the annual contracts with its suppliers “and thus continue to ensure a stable income for producers“, explains Charles Alland, its deputy general manager. Prepared for a growing business, the French family business is currently building its fourth rubber processing workshop. The same dynamic at Nexira, which invested last year to increase its production capacity at its Normandy site and which today has the only pre-processing plant on African soil, in Sudan, with a capacity of 15 to 20,000 tons per year.
Despite the growth of the world market anticipated by manufacturers, it is still too early to say whether the new American regulations will have a real impact on the prices of raw gum paid locally and if so in what proportions.