Sudan's war has deprived farmers of gum Arabic, a critical ingredient for global industry, including fizzy drinks, and local consumers. However, a trade association promises that global inventories are sufficient for now.
The golden blobs of resin extracted from thorny acacia bushes are used as an emulsifier in everything from soft beverages to chewing gum and medications.
Sudan is the world's largest raw gum producer, a significant foreign currency source for northeast African countries.
The industry has weathered multiple conflicts, a rising environment, and decades of sanctions.
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Now, though, "producers are grappling with disaster," Adam Issa Mohammed, an Arabic gum trader in El Obeid, the North Kordofan state capital 350 kilometres southwest of Khartoum, told AFP.
Sudanese gum Arabic growers use the city as one of their key local markets. Other farming sectors are also dealing with a wartime shortage of buyers as fuel constraints impede transportation to market and cause prices to skyrocket.
However, considering the industry's importance to Sudan's economy and its support for five million Sudanese, the war's impact on gum Arabic is particularly critical.
Battles between army head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo have killed about 1,000 people, displaced over a million, and wreaked havoc on an already battered economy.
Most of the fighting has taken place in Khartoum, the capital, parts of which have been reduced to smouldering ashes, as well as the western province of Darfur.
The Gedaref area and its acacia trees have been spared the conflict further east, closer to the Ethiopian border, but Arabic gum farmers are still affected. Ahmed Mohammed Hussein, an Arabic gum manufacturer, claimed the lack of buyers had resulted in a 60 per cent price drop.
According to pre-war estimates from AFD, the French development agency, Sudanese exports accounted for 70% of global raw gum supplies.
According to the most recent official data, Sudan's gum Arabic exports were 88,000 tonnes in 2021, earning $110 million.
Mostafa al-Sayyed Khalil, chairman of Sudan's Gum Arabic Council, believes his numbers for 2022 export of 60,000 tonnes are an underestimation.
