It is in the famous M & MS, Mars, lipons of L’Oreal and even in Nestlé animal food. And it is financed both sides of a bloody war that is provoking the greatest humanitarian crisis today.
A key ingredient found in Coca-Cola, M & MS, L’Oréal lipsticks and even Nestlé’s animal food will be funded by the ongoing civil war in Sudanwhere the largest humanitarian crisis of today.
The ingredient in question is the Rubber-Ranbicderived from acacia sap, used in various products such as stabilizer, thickening and binding agent in various industries.
O Sudan produces about 80% World Gum and has been a central actor in the global trade of valuable product. But the conflict between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary forces of rapid support (RSF) has made increasingly complicated gum production and trade.
With the control of gum harvesting regions to fall largely in the hands of the RSF, which are trying to take over the country, the sap trade revenues have become Fundamental funding source for both sides of the conflict.
Currently, sap has become “a key source of financing for both sides,” according to.
Many merchants from neighboring countries such as Chad, Senegal, Egypt and South Sudan are offering very small gum to gum, but without certification that ensures that it is “free of conflict”. As a result, much of the gum that is being exported is now smuggledaccording to sources of., which “is“ complicating the efforts of western companies ”to release their chains of supply from the bonds of the conflict.
Historically, Sudan’s gum trade has been an essential source of influence on international diplomacy. In the 1990s, the US imposed sanctions on Sudan, but created an exemption specifically for the gum. Trade continued to function despite the country’s involvement in regional conflicts, including Darfur’s bloody conflict. But the conflict has climbed, and it is increasingly difficult for Western companies to avoid the possibility of their supply chains contributing to the war effort.
Despite the growing awareness for this issue, large companies such as Nestlé, Coca-Cola, L’Oréal and Mars have never publicly commented on the situation.
For them, “uninterrupted access to this fundamental ingredient is not negotiable,” as explained.
Since April 15, 2023, the conflict between General Al-Burhan’s forces and General Hemedti’s militias may have cost more than 150,000 civilians.
