SIP Bid / Ask, USD
ACAI.FINO.BR-PA 3.53 / 4.01 kgAGARWOOD.GRADEA.IN-AS 394.32 / 630.91 kgALFALFA.PREMIUM.AU-NSW 210.06 / 336.09 MTALOEVERA.100X.CN-GD 60 / 96 kgAMARANTH.RAMDANA.IN-UT 591.48 / 946.37 MTANCHOVY.DRIEDA.MY-08 2.25 / 3.60 kgANNATTO.WHOLESEED.IN-AP 0.71 / 1.39 kgANTIMONY.INGOT9965.CN-HN 4,950 / 8,040 MTAPRICOTK.SWEET.AF-KAB 7.49 / 11.99 kgARECA.REDBOILED.IN-KA 2.76 / 4.42 kgASHWAGANDHA.ROOT.IN-MP 2.05 / 3.28 kgBAMBOO.DENDRO.IN-AS 3.94 / 6.31 pieceBAOBAB.WILDPOWDER.KE-14 6 / 12 kgBARITE.API42.CN-GZ 63.75 / 238.80 MTBARU.RAW.BR-GO 7.80 / 12.48 kgBASMATI.1121SELLA.IN-PB 552.05 / 883.28 MTBEESWAX.YELLOWA.TZ-24 6 / 9.60 kgBENTONITE.ACTIVATED.CN-HE 138.75 / 222 MTBENZOIN.SIAM.VN-06 18.75 / 30 kgBIRDSNEST.CLEANED.VN-34 1,580.84 / 2,529.35 kgCARDBLACK.BOLD.CN-YN 7.88 / 18 kgBLACKSEED.COLDPR.IN-RJ 5.63 / 9.01 kgBOVINE.CRUST.BD-13 1.01 / 2.16 sq_ftBRAZILNUT.INSHELL.BR-AM 2.23 / 3.56 kgCARD.BOLD8MM.IN-KL 33.94 / 54.30 kgCARNAUBA.T4.BR-RN 4.73 / 15.14 kgCASHEW.KOR50.BJ-CO 0.60 / 0.96 kgCASHMERE.DEHAIR16.CN-NM 49.50 / 127.20 kgCHAMOMILE.CUTSIFT.CN-AH 7.50 / 18 kgCHIA.BLACK99.PY-14 1,425 / 2,280 MTCHILI.ERJINGTIAO.CN-HA 0.75 / 2.40 kgCHROMITE.CHEM46.ZA-LP 449.53 / 719.24 MTCINNAMON.CHINACASSIA.CN-GX 2.91 / 4.66 kgCLAY.BLEACH.IN-RJ 141.96 / 302.84 MTCLOVE.FAQ.ID-SN 5.62 / 10.20 kgCOCOA.GRADE1.CM-SW 1.50 / 2.40 kgCOCONUTOIL.CNO.ID-RI 1.33 / 2.13 LCOCOSUGAR.CRYSTAL.ID-YO 1.76 / 2.82 kgCOFFEE.AA.TZ-09 9.08 / 14.52 kgCOIR.BRISTLE.IN-TN 0.16 / 0.63 kg

Gum Arabic

GUMARABICGums, Resins & Natural Extracts7 listed markets

Gum arabic is the dried exudate of Acacia trees growing across the Sahelian gum belt from Senegal to the Red Sea. Tapped by wounding the bark in the dry season, it hardens into pale amber nodules that dissolve readily in cold water to give a solution of unusually low viscosity for its concentration. That property makes it the reference natural emulsifier and stabiliser of the food industry, where it holds the flavour oils in soft drinks, coats confectionery, prevents sugar crystallisation and carries encapsulated flavours. It is also used as a binder in printing inks, watercolour paint and lithography, as a pharmaceutical excipient, and as a soluble dietary fibre.

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Nothing here matches what you are holding? Send it anyway. The sheets cover the markets we publish, not the limit of what we will look at.

Listed gum arabic markets

Each line is a grade at a delivery point. Open one for its full specification and terms.

SymbolGradeDelivery pointState
GUMARABIC.HPS.TD-BAHand-picked selected gum arabicBatha, ChadBuys and sells, quoted on request GUMARABIC.HPS.NG-JIHand-picked selected gum arabicJigawa, NigeriaBuys and sells, quoted on request GUMARABIC.HPS.SD-KNHand-picked selected gum arabicNorth Kordofan, SudanBuys and sells, quoted on request GUMARABIC.KIBBLED.TD-BAKibbled gum arabicBatha, ChadBuys and sells, quoted on request GUMARABIC.KIBBLED.NG-JIKibbled gum arabicJigawa, NigeriaBuys and sells, quoted on request GUMARABIC.KIBBLED.SD-KNKibbled gum arabicNorth Kordofan, SudanBuys and sells, quoted on request GUMARABIC.TALHA.SD-KSTalha gum arabicSouth Kordofan, SudanBuys and sells, quoted on request

Price guarantee on gum arabic

If a move in the gum arabic price would hurt you, fix the price now. We agree it today for the months you name, and it holds whatever the market does in between.

BuyingYou use or resell gum arabic and need to know your cost. We fix your purchase price for the quantity and months you name.
SellingYou grow, produce or hold gum arabic and need to know your revenue. We fix your sale price ahead of production or shipment.
SettlementAgainst delivery of the gum arabic.

A price is fixed only once a trader confirms it in writing. Request a fixed price.

Caps and floors on gum arabic

A fixed price binds buyer and seller. A cap or a floor is a guaranteed price on one side only. You pay a fee up front for it, and it is a right, not an obligation: you use it only if the market moves against you.

CapFor buyers. A guaranteed maximum price for gum arabic. If the market is above the cap when you buy, you pay the cap. If it is below, you buy at the market price and let the cap lapse.
FloorFor sellers. A guaranteed minimum price for gum arabic. If the market is below the floor when you sell, you receive the floor. If it is above, you sell at the market price and let the floor lapse.
FeeAgreed and paid up front. It is the whole cost of the cap or floor, and it is not refunded if the cap or floor goes unused.

A cap or a floor is in place only once a trader confirms it in writing. Request a cap or a floor.

Grades

Gum arabic is contracted on species, on the physical sortation delivered by the collector, and on the identity and purity tests of the food additive compendia. Hashab and talha are different additives with different functional performance, and the contract names one of them.

Species as the contracted article

4 grades

JECFA and Codex identity criteria for the food additive, together with botanical identification of the tapped treeWhich Acacia was tapped. It is the primary commercial split, it changes the functional performance, and it cannot be inferred by eye once the gum is kibbled.

GradeDefinition
HashabAcacia senegal, also cited as Senegalia senegalThe premium article. Pale, high nitrogen, high in the arabinogalactan-protein fraction that does the emulsifying work. Positive specific optical rotation.
TalhaAcacia seyal, also cited as Vachellia seyalDarker, lower nitrogen, higher molecular weight and used where the emulsification demand is lower or where soluble fibre is the point. Negative specific optical rotation.
BlendsDeclared, with the ratioHashab and talha blends are legitimate contracted articles when the ratio is stated. They are never delivered against a straight hashab contract.
Species verificationSpecific optical rotation, and nitrogen contentThe sign of the optical rotation separates the two species on the bench. It is the standard authenticity check and it is contracted.

Physical form and sortation

7 grades

Trade sortation carried out by hand and by screen at origin, against sieve apertures and a sealed reference sampleHow the raw gum was cleaned and presented. Sizing is by aperture and colour is by matched sample, because natural gum colour is not a score.

GradeDefinition
Hand-picked selectedWhole, clean, hand-selected nodulesAbbreviated HPS. The top of the physical ladder and the article specified by name in the trade.
Cleaned and siftedScreened and cleaned whole gumThe bulk grade for industrial processing into powder.
SiftingsSmall pieces passing the sorting screenA separately contracted article, priced against HPS and never delivered in its place.
DustFines, declared with the meshWhat falls through the finest screen.
KibbledMechanically broken to a stated particle sizeCrushed whole gum, sized by sieve aperture.
Spray dried powderDeclared, with the mesh and the solution concentration usedDissolved, filtered, pasteurised and spray dried. The article most food manufacturers actually buy, and it carries its own microbiological specification.
ColourDeclared, against a retained reference samplePale amber through to dark reddish. Matched to a sealed sample held by both parties.

Identity and purity, food additive specification

12 grades

JECFA combined compendium specification for gum arabic, INS 414, applied with Codex CXS 192 and CXS 193, tested by an accredited laboratoryThe compendial tests. These are the numbers a food manufacturer reads before the gum is approved into a formulation.

GradeDefinition
Nitrogen contentPercentage by massDetermined by Kjeldahl. The proxy for the protein bound arabinogalactan fraction that does the emulsifying, and the classical hashab and talha discriminator.
Protein contentPercentage by mass, calculated from nitrogenNitrogen multiplied by the species factor stated in the specification.
Specific optical rotationDegrees, on a solution of stated concentrationPositive for Acacia senegal, negative for Acacia seyal. The authenticity test.
ViscosityMillipascal seconds, on a solution of stated concentration and temperatureLow viscosity at high solids is the functional property the buyer is purchasing.
Loss on dryingPercentage by mass, maximumDetermined by oven drying at the stated temperature.
Total ashPercentage by mass, maximumMineral residue after incineration.
Acid-insoluble matterPercentage by mass, maximumSand and silica. The measure of how the gum was collected off the tree and the ground.
Water-insoluble matterPercentage by mass, maximumBark and fibre that never dissolves.
Starch and dextrinLimit test, negativeIodine test for the classical adulterants.
Tannin-bearing gumsLimit test, negativeFerric chloride test, which excludes gum from unrelated species.
Lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercuryMilligrams per kilogram, maximumBy inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, against the compendium and CXS 193.
Microbiological limitsColony forming units per gram, maximum, with the pathogen absence criteriaTotal plate count, yeasts and moulds, Escherichia coli and Salmonella. Contracted for every food grade lot.

Origin, legality and delivery

8 grades

Contract terms settled on the document and on the package rather than in the laboratoryTerms that travel with the lot.

GradeDefinition
Botanical originDeclared, with the binomial species nameThe genus alone is not a specification. Related species yield materially different material and they are priced apart.
Wild harvested or cultivatedDeclaredIt drives availability, legality documentation and, in several of these articles, the chemistry.
Legality and collection permitDeclared, with the permit referenceExport permit, forest concession or community collection agreement. Wild resins move on paperwork and it travels with the lot.
CertificationCertificate, with the scheme and the certificate numberOrganic, FairWild, Fair for Life or a private buyer standard, named on the contract when it is contracted.
PackingDeclaredJute or polypropylene bags, cartons, fibre drums, steel drums or bulk bags, with the liner specified. Soft resins are contracted with a temperature term because they cold flow.
Sampling planDeclaredHow many packages are sampled, by whom, and against which retained reference sample. Hand sorted natural material is heterogeneous between bags.
Food additive numberDeclared, as INS 414 or E 414The regulatory identity of the article in the destination market.
Processing routeDeclaredRaw, kibbled, mechanically powdered or spray dried, with pasteurisation and filtration stated where applied.

Grades outside this list trade on request. Send us the contract specification you work to and we will price against it.

Locations

CountryRegionWe trade it as
SudanKordofan, Darfur, Blue Nile and GedarefOrigin
ChadSahelian belt, Guera and SalamatOrigin
NigeriaJigawa, Yobe, Borno, Bauchi and KatsinaOrigin
SenegalLouga, Matam and the FerloOrigin
MaliKayes and SegouOrigin
NigerZinder, Maradi and DiffaOrigin
MauritaniaTrarza and BraknaOrigin
Burkina FasoSahel and Est regionsOrigin
EthiopiaTigray, Amhara and Benishangul-GumuzOrigin
EritreaGash-BarkaOrigin
KenyaNorthern rangelandsOrigin
TanzaniaNorthern and central regionsOrigin
CameroonFar North regionOrigin
SomaliaSouthern and central regionsOrigin
FranceRouen, Bordeaux and the Paris basinDestination
United KingdomLondon and the North WestDestination
GermanyHamburg and North Rhine-WestphaliaDestination
ItalyMilan and GenoaDestination
SpainBarcelona and ValenciaDestination
NetherlandsRotterdamDestination
BelgiumAntwerpDestination
SwitzerlandBaselDestination
United StatesNew Jersey, Illinois and CaliforniaDestination
CanadaOntario and QuebecDestination
MexicoMexico City and JaliscoDestination
BrazilSao PauloDestination
IndiaGujarat, Maharashtra and DelhiDestination
ChinaShanghai, Guangdong and ShandongDestination
JapanTokyo and OsakaDestination
South KoreaSeoul and BusanDestination
IndonesiaJakarta and SurabayaDestination
TurkeyIstanbul and IzmirDestination
EgyptAlexandria and CairoDestination
Saudi ArabiaJeddah and RiyadhDestination
United Arab EmiratesDubaiDestination
South AfricaGauteng and Western CapeDestination
AustraliaNew South Wales and VictoriaDestination

Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown here.

Timing

Harvest is when the material is tapped or gathered at origin. Arrival is when a shipment from that origin typically lands in a consuming market. The gap between them is drying, hand sorting, grading, laboratory clearance and the voyage.

HarvestArrival

OriginJFMAMJJASONDWindow
SudanHarvest Nov to Apr, arrival Jan to JunTapping starts after the rains end and the collection runs through the dry season, with picking every few weeks off the same wounds. Auction, cleaning and hand sorting sit between the last pick and the vessel at Port Sudan.
ChadHarvest Nov to Apr, arrival Feb to JulThe same Sahelian dry season window, with a long inland leg through Cameroon or Sudan to reach a port.
NigeriaHarvest Nov to Apr, arrival Jan to JunHarmattan season tapping across the northern belt, consolidated at Kano and shipped from Lagos.
SenegalHarvest Dec to May, arrival Feb to JulFerlo collection through the dry season, shipped from Dakar with a short voyage to Europe.
MaliHarvest Dec to Apr, arrival Feb to JunKayes and Segou collection on the same dry season pattern, moving out through Dakar or Abidjan.
NigerHarvest Nov to Apr, arrival Feb to JulZinder and Maradi collection, with the route to a port the binding constraint.
EthiopiaHarvest Oct to Mar, arrival Dec to MayDry season tapping in the western and northern lowlands, moving out through Djibouti.
KenyaHarvest Jan to Sep, arrival Mar to NovTwo dry windows either side of the long rains, from the northern rangelands to Mombasa.
MauritaniaHarvest Dec to Apr, arrival Feb to JunTrarza and Brakna collection through the dry season, shipped from Nouakchott.

Windows outside this pattern trade on request, including carry, forward positions and stock already sitting in a destination warehouse.

Customs, packing and contract terms

Indicative terms for gum arabic. Tariff classification is the importer’s responsibility and limits change, so confirm both against the destination customs authority and the current regulation before you fix a contract.

  • HS heading1301.20 Gum Arabic
  • PackingJute or PP bags of 25 kg to 50 kg for tears and lumps, fibre drums or lined cartons for hand sorted and graded material, steel drums for rosin and oleoresins.
  • Container loading20ft: 12 t to 20 t depending on grade and bulk density. Hand sorted grades ship light.
  • Contract and arbitrationSale on the sorted grade with a retained sealed sample and a certificate of analysis. European trade on the terms of the importing association, arbitration under ICC rules or at the contract seat.
  • Destination limitsEU food additive specifications under Regulation 231/2012 where the gum is an additive, covering E414 gum arabic, E413 tragacanth and E904 shellac. Pesticide and heavy metal limits, EU REACH for technical grades, phytosanitary certification, and CITES where the botanical source is a listed species.

Common questions

What grades of gum arabic does SIP Global trade?

We quote 31 published grades of gum arabic, including Hashab - Acacia senegal, also cited as Senegalia senegal, Talha - Acacia seyal, also cited as Vachellia seyal, Blends - Declared, with the ratio, Species verification - Specific optical rotation, and nitrogen content, Hand-picked selected - Whole, clean, hand-selected nodules and Cleaned and sifted - Screened and cleaned whole gum. Every grade is tied to a delivery point and a settlement route. Grades outside the published list are priced on request.

How is gum arabic graded?

Gum arabic is contracted on species, on the physical sortation delivered by the collector, and on the identity and purity tests of the food additive compendia. Hashab and talha are different additives with different functional performance, and the contract names one of them. Grading runs on 4 systems: Species as the contracted article, Physical form and sortation, Identity and purity, food additive specification and Origin, legality and delivery.

Where does SIP Global trade gum arabic?

We trade gum arabic in Sudan, Chad, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso and 29 further markets. Origins and destinations outside this list trade on request. We are not limited to the locations shown.

When is gum arabic harvested and when does it arrive?

Typical windows are Sudan: harvest nov to apr, arrival jan to jun; Chad: harvest nov to apr, arrival feb to jul; Nigeria: harvest nov to apr, arrival jan to jun; Senegal: harvest dec to may, arrival feb to jul; Mali: harvest dec to apr, arrival feb to jun. Harvest is when the lot is taken at origin, arrival is when a shipment from that origin lands in a consuming market. Windows outside this pattern, including carry, trade on request.

What is the HS code for gum arabic?

Gum arabic is normally classified under HS 1301.20 (gum arabic). The heading follows the form the goods are in at the border, and national tariffs extend it beyond six digits, so confirm the full line with the destination customs authority before you fix a contract.

Can I fix a gum arabic price ahead?

Yes. SIP Global fixes a gum arabic price ahead for buyers and for sellers, as a price guarantee. Send the grade, the quantity and the months you need covered. We settle against delivery, and a price is fixed only once a trader confirms it in writing.

How do I get a price for gum arabic?

Send the grade, the origin and the delivery window to SIP Global. That is enough for a trader to come back with a level and a settlement route. 7 listed gum arabic markets are published on this page, each with its full specification and terms. We buy and sell the physical cargo, prompt to long dated.

Standards and data sources

The grading language on this sheet follows published standards. Trade volumes and tariff lines are public record. Verify anything here against the source.