Gum arabica gets market in France
Nov 30, 2009
THE Karamoja Co-operative Gum Arabic Association has signed a contract with a French firm, Colloides Natural International (CNI), to supply 40 tonnes of gum arabica next year.
Olandason Wanyama
THE Karamoja Co-operative Gum Arabic Association has signed a contract with a French firm, Colloides Natural International (CNI), to supply 40 tonnes of gum arabica next year.
Abdel Rahman Elsheikh, a Sudanese consultant working for CNI, said the firm signed the deal with the association in September.
The firm, he added, would buy each tonne of the crop at $900.
“We need this gum at the end of January next year,†he said.
Elsheikh said his company was interested in the Acacia Seyal species, rated on the world market as grade-two gums.
“We expect to obtain quality gum after carrying out several experiments in the past month.â€
He said about 100 personnel had been trained on how to produce the gum locally within the communities.
“The pastoralist communities in the Karamoja cluster will be able to improve their economic and social conditions if they produce quality gum,†he said.
Elsheikh said they would ensure the communities are supported because the company in France was relying on them.
“We require gum whose the lumps measure at least 0.5mm-1mm after sieving, with a moisture content of less than 10%. If it exceeds that, it will be rejected.â€
Elsheikh also cautioned the youth to ensure that the gum is free from impurities.
The French company, which makes flavours and fragrances, also trained the you from the five districts of Karamoja in gum arabic production.
“We have been supported and trained as trainers.
“We shall make sure we tap enough gum to sustain the French firm’s needs,†John Bosco Agello, a resident of Lokopo sub-county in Moroto, said at the end of the training.
He argued that since they had lost most of their cattle, it was time to think of alternative means of survival.
Jimmy Lomokol, the head of the Karamoja Private Sector Development Centre, said the region had the potential to produce quality gum arabic.
“We have the capacity to produce up to 300 tonnes annually if more buyers can be identified,†he said.
Lomokol said gum arabic was a natural resource, which had been abandoned by successive governments.
He said it is the current government that brought it on board.
“The communities, mainly reformed warriors, will benefit from the deal and improve their livelihood,†Lomokol observed.
The tapping of gum arabic was initiated by President Yoweri Museveni during one of his tours of Karamoja sub-region in 2002. However, in the past years, the initiative hit a snag due to lack of funding untill the United Nations Development Fund intervened.
Lomokol said the first shipment of Gum Arabic next year will be a blessing of Uganda in the world.
“We are doing it for the first time in history of Uganda exports,†he said.
Gum Arabic forests are highly concentrated in Lokopo, Matany, Irrir and Lopei Sub Counties in Moroto districts. In Kotido the gum is found in mostly Rengen and Nakaperimoru and some parts of Kaabong and Nakapiripirit districts.
THE Karamoja Co-operative Gum Arabic Association has signed a contract with a French firm, Colloides Natural International (CNI), to supply 40 tonnes of gum arabica next year.
Abdel Rahman Elsheikh, a Sudanese consultant working for CNI, said the firm signed the deal with the association in September.
The firm, he added, would buy each tonne of the crop at $900.
“We need this gum at the end of January next year,†he said.
Elsheikh said his company was interested in the Acacia Seyal species, rated on the world market as grade-two gums.
“We expect to obtain quality gum after carrying out several experiments in the past month.â€
He said about 100 personnel had been trained on how to produce the gum locally within the communities.
“The pastoralist communities in the Karamoja cluster will be able to improve their economic and social conditions if they produce quality gum,†he said.
Elsheikh said they would ensure the communities are supported because the company in France was relying on them.
“We require gum whose the lumps measure at least 0.5mm-1mm after sieving, with a moisture content of less than 10%. If it exceeds that, it will be rejected.â€
Elsheikh also cautioned the youth to ensure that the gum is free from impurities.
The French company, which makes flavours and fragrances, also trained the you from the five districts of Karamoja in gum arabic production.
“We have been supported and trained as trainers.
“We shall make sure we tap enough gum to sustain the French firm’s needs,†John Bosco Agello, a resident of Lokopo sub-county in Moroto, said at the end of the training.
He argued that since they had lost most of their cattle, it was time to think of alternative means of survival.
Jimmy Lomokol, the head of the Karamoja Private Sector Development Centre, said the region had the potential to produce quality gum arabic.
“We have the capacity to produce up to 300 tonnes annually if more buyers can be identified,†he said.
Lomokol said gum arabic was a natural resource, which had been abandoned by successive governments.
He said it is the current government that brought it on board.
“The communities, mainly reformed warriors, will benefit from the deal and improve their livelihood,†Lomokol observed.
The tapping of gum arabic was initiated by President Yoweri Museveni during one of his tours of Karamoja sub-region in 2002. However, in the past years, the initiative hit a snag due to lack of funding untill the United Nations Development Fund intervened.
Lomokol said the first shipment of Gum Arabic next year will be a blessing of Uganda in the world.
“We are doing it for the first time in history of Uganda exports,†he said.
Gum Arabic forests are highly concentrated in Lokopo, Matany, Irrir and Lopei Sub Counties in Moroto districts. In Kotido the gum is found in mostly Rengen and Nakaperimoru and some parts of Kaabong and Nakapiripirit districts.