(Reuters) - Counting piles of banknotes in front of his tiny warehouse, Sudanese trader Maaz Adam is arranging yet another purchase of a red gum which may find its way into a bottle of soda pop drunk a world away from this dusty town.
"I bought today 25 sacks for around 10,000 to 11,000 pounds (around $1,500 at the black market rate)," he says, putting the banknotes in the suitcase of another trader who is preparing to seek more supplies of gum arabic from village farmers.
Business is booming in the western Sudanese town of En Nahud thanks to rising global demand for gum arabic, a natural and edible gum taken from acacia trees growing in the area.
Adam paid about 440 pounds per large sack, three times as much as he paid two years ago. Used as an emulsifier to prevent sugar from crystallizing in fizzy drinks, as a thickener in confectionery and as a binder for drugs, cosmetics and postage stamps, gum arabic is in high demand in many countries.
It is a rare export success story for Sudan, which has been plagued by ethnic conflicts, poverty and poor economic infrastructure. The gum arabic trade hints at the growth which the country may achieve if it can find ways to mobilize more of its vast areas of arable lands and agricultural resources.
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