Gum Arabic (Acacia Senegal / Hashab and Acacia Seyal / Talha, Kibbled and Spray-Dried, E414)

Hashab and talha gum arabic in HPS, cleaned and siftings grades and spray-dried powder, with the origin traced

Gum arabic is the dried exudate of the stems and branches of Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal, and the two species are two trades. Acacia senegal, called hashab and, from its classic provenance in North Kordofan, Kordofan gum, is the robust, higher-priced gum for emulsions; Acacia seyal, called talha, is flakier and less in demand. Raw hashab is sorted into hand-picked selected (HPS), the cleanest, lightest and largest nodules, cleaned gum without dust, and siftings; talha into cleaned (4 mm and above), siftings (0.5-4 mm) and dust. Most processing into kibbled, granulated and spray-dried powder takes place in Western Europe, and the customs code for all of it is HS 1301.20. In the EU the additive is E414 under Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, and Regulation (EU) 2026/196 tightened the monograph from 18 August 2026 to arsenic 0.1 mg/kg, lead 0.05, mercury 0.05 and cadmium 0.05 mg/kg, protein not more than 3.5% and aluminium 200 mg/kg (100 mg/kg for infant foods). In the USA acacia is affirmed GRAS under 21 CFR 184.1330 to Food Chemicals Codex specifications, whose heavy metal limits differ, so the COA names the standard it is written to. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 1301.20 total USD 348 million, led by France at USD 255 million and 49,200 MT, Germany USD 24 million, the USA USD 15 million, India USD 10 million and Nigeria USD 3.4 million and 2,600 MT; the gum belt origins report little or nothing, so mirror flows matter more than origin declarations.

Before April 2023 Sudan supplied an estimated 70-80% of world gum arabic exports; Chad, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Cameroon mainly produce talha. Trade with Sudan is not broadly prohibited for US persons since the 2017 revocations, but targeted US sanctions under E.O. 13400 and E.O. 14098, EU listings under Decision (CFSP) 2023/2135 and the UN Darfur regime, extended by Resolution 2828 (2026) to 9 October 2026, apply to named persons and entities. Reports describe armed groups controlling gum routes, stockpiles and border crossings, and Sudanese gum being moved to neighbouring countries, mixed and relabelled, and US senators asked in September 2026 for due-diligence guidelines on gum arabic procurement. So every lot is traced to its collection area, the exporter, its owners, the transporter and the bank are screened against US, EU, UK and UN lists, and a Chad or Nigeria origin is checked against the exporter's own collection and a certificate of origin. The buyer is a beverage emulsion, confectionery, flavour encapsulation or pharmaceutical maker, or a European processor buying raw gum. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers raw and processed gum arabic against the COA for species, viscosity, moisture, ash, protein, microbiology and heavy metals, a phytosanitary certificate for raw gum, a certificate of origin, and halal and kosher certificates from bodies the buyer accepts, in multiwall bags on FOB, CFR and CIF terms, priced per MT on species and grade. Send the species, grade or powder spec, standard, volume and discharge port.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.