Gum arabic from Africa’s acacia trees in the Sahel is used in hundreds of products: what’s worth knowing

Gum arabic from Africa’s acacia trees in the Sahel is used in hundreds of products: what’s worth knowing

By Asgar Ali, University of Nottingham The conflict in Sudan has turned attention to a rarely discussed commodity: gum arabic. This product, the dried sap of certain species of acacia trees, is used mainly as an additive in the soft drinks industry. Sudan accounts for about 70% of global gum arabic exports. Asgar Ali, an expert in sustainable food systems, answers questions about the commodity and its […]

April 30, 2024 42

Africa

‘We miners die a lot.’ Appalling conditions and poverty wages: the lives of cobalt miners in the DRC

Labourers load sacks of cobalt onto bicycles at Mutoshi mine in July 2021. Roy Maconachie Roy Maconachie, University of Bath It was a cool, dusty morning in July 2021, when I first visited the Kamilombe cobalt mine in Lualaba Province in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Situated just outside Kapata on the south-west outskirts of Kolwezi, a mining town that has historically served as an important centre for copper and […]

January 31, 2024 8

Business / Economics

Houthi attacks disrupt Red Sea shipping

Analysts warn that recent attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels may raise oil and goods prices. Companies, including Maersk, are diverting shipments via Africa's Cape of Good Hope to avoid the affected route, causing potential delays, as explained by Guy Platten from the International Chamber of Shipping. Meanwhile, the BBC reports that the disruption has led the United States to launch an international naval operation […]

December 19, 2023 34