Raw gum in bulk. Gum arabic from Somaliland

Raw gum of the tree known locally as cadaad, hand-picked or cleaned and sifted, for importers and processors who do their own processing. Somaliland is an unproven origin for gum arabic and we treat it as one: volumes are confirmed per order, and a food-grade claim waits for a laboratory report on the lot.

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What you should know about this origin

Sudan is the leading producer of gum arabic, with Chad and Nigeria behind it.^1,2 Africa’s gum belt runs from Mauritania and Senegal in the west to Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania in the east,¹ and the gum arabic tree is native to Somalia.³

Somaliland is not among the origins the market studies list,^1,4 and we know of no published laboratory profile of its gum. We have not published one of our own. So we offer this gum on plain terms: we buy it locally, clean and sort it, confirm the volume we can supply for each order, and send a sample of the lot for you to test.

A first order is a trial

Test the sample, then test the lot. If the results suit your process, a supply programme is the next step.

Species

Food law defines gum arabic by its tree. JECFA defines it as the dried exudate from the stems and branches of Acacia senegal or Acacia seyal.⁵ The EU defines E 414 as coming from Acacia senegal or closely related species.⁶ Botanists now place the two trees in Senegalia senegal and Vachellia seyal; the regulations keep the older names.^3,7

The two gums are told apart by optical rotation: solutions of A. senegal gum turn polarised light to the left, and those of A. seyal gum to the right.⁵ In Sudan the first is called hashab and the second talha.¹

The gum we buy is identified by the local name of its tree, cadaad, one of the Somali names the Flora of Somalia records for Acacia senegal.⁸ It has not been botanically verified. We publish no optical-rotation figure and do not call the gum pure A. senegal. The test can be run on the lot on request.

Identifiers: The JECFA specification gives gum arabic the CAS number 9000-01-5,⁵ and the EU specification gives acacia gum the EINECS number 232-519-5.⁶

Grades and forms

Crude gum is traded in grades such as hand-picked selected, cleaned and sifted, and cleaned, with siftings and dust as by-products. Hand-picked selected means whole nodules of the lightest colour, with dust and siftings removed by hand.¹

Gum arabic grades and forms
Grade	What it looks like	Place in the trade
Hand-picked selected (HPS)	Largest, cleanest, palest nodules, picked by hand	The first of the crude grades
Cleaned and sifted	Natural nodules cleaned of bark and debris, sorted by size	The grade below hand-picked selected
Kibbled	Broken into small, even pieces that dissolve faster	On request only
Siftings and dust	Small fractions left after sorting	By-product grades for industrial use

Grade names follow trade usage for raw gum. No laboratory results are published for this origin yet: see the specification section before you plan a food or pharmaceutical use.

Cleaning, sorting and grading are normally done in the producing country. Spray-drying and most further processing are done by specialist processors.¹ We work at the first stage only: raw gum, cleaned and sorted, and kibbled on request.

Specification

The lines of the written specification, and what a laboratory can test on the lot when you ask. Nothing in this table is a laboratory result.

The lines of the written specification, and how each is settled
Line	What the written specification states	Status
Gum	Raw gum arabic, bought as the gum of cadaad, with how it was identified	Every order
Grade and form	Hand-picked selected, cleaned and sifted, or siftings; kibbled if you ask	Every order
Colour and nodule size	In plain words, judged against the approved sample and the photographs of the lot	Every order
Bark and foreign matter	A maximum by weight can be written in	Yours to set
Optical rotation	Measured by an outside laboratory	On request
Loss on drying, ash, acid-insoluble matter	Measured by an outside laboratory	On request
Lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, aluminium	Measured by an outside laboratory	On request
Protein, microbiology	Measured by an outside laboratory	On request
Viscosity and other functional tests	Agreed with each buyer. Name the method	On request
Sampling	The sample is drawn from the lot on offer. State how you want it drawn, and whether a counter-sample should be kept and for how long	Every order
Packing	25 kg woven bags as standard. State the bag or carton you need, the net weight of each and the tolerance on it	Every order
Marks	The lot number on every bag, and any marks of your own	Every order
Storage and transit	Any condition your material needs between packing and arrival	Yours to set
Reference	The sample and photographs of the lot you approved, and its lot number	Every order

Published limits

Purity limits for gum arabic as a food additive, from JECFA’s international specification and the EU’s legal one. They are not our results. They are the numbers a lot is tested against.

Published purity limits for gum arabic: JECFA and the European Union
Parameter	JECFA, INS 414	EU, E 414, from 18 August 2026
Loss on drying	Not more than 15% (granular), 10% (spray-dried)	Not more than 17% (granular), 10% (spray-dried)
Total ash	Not more than 4%	Not more than 4%
Acid-insoluble ash	Not more than 0.5%	Not more than 0.5%
Acid-insoluble matter	Not more than 1%	Not more than 1%
Starch or dextrin; tannin	Must pass the tests	Must pass the tests
Lead	Not more than 2 mg/kg	Not more than 0.05 mg/kg
Cadmium, mercury	No limit in this specification	Each not more than 0.05 mg/kg
Arsenic	No limit in this specification	Not more than 0.1 mg/kg
Aluminium	No limit in this specification	Not more than 200 mg/kg; 100 mg/kg for infant and young-child foods
Protein	No limit in this specification	Not more than 3.5%
Total plate count; yeasts and moulds	No limit in this specification	Each not more than 10,000 cfu/g
Salmonella	Negative	Absent in 25 g
E. coli	Negative in 1 g	Absent in 5 g

The JECFA figures are those of its specification for INS 414.⁵ The EU figures are those of Regulation (EU) 2026/196, which applies from 18 August 2026.⁶ Read the full specification in each document before you set your own: the EU text adds criteria for infant foods.

In the United States, acacia (gum arabic) is affirmed as generally recognised as safe under 21 CFR 184.1330,⁹ and the importer of a food ingredient must run a Foreign Supplier Verification Program covering its foreign supplier.¹⁰

Terms

Delivery term: FOB BerberaCIF to your port on request
Packing: 25 kg woven bagsCartons, inner liners and custom packing on request
Samples: Usually 100 g to 1 kg per gradeBy courier, drawn from the lot on offer
Payment: Bank transfer or letter of creditThe quotation names the entity you contract with and the account you pay. If you want a letter of credit, ask your own bank first.
Volume: Confirmed per orderTell us what you need and when. We say what we can supply before we quote.
Stated in each quotation: Price, minimum quantity and lead timeNone of the three is fixed in advance: each depends on the product, the grade and the season. The quotation gives them for a named lot, per kilogram by grade, and says how long it holds.

What buyers ask for, and where we stand

European buyers of acacia gum expect a safety data sheet, a technical data sheet and a certificate of analysis; gum that is not mixed with other gums and is of consistent light colour; food-safety certification; and traceability.² Line by line:

What buyers of gum arabic ask of a supplier, and where Orivex Exports stands on each
What buyers ask for	Where we stand	Status
Certificate of analysis	A laboratory report on the lot, from an outside laboratory named on the report. You choose the tests.	On request
Safety data sheet	On request, where your market requires one.	On request
Technical data sheet	None yet. We print no typical values until lots have been analysed.	Not available
Food-safety certification	None held. If your approval process requires one from the origin supplier, tell us at the start.	None held
Gum not mixed with other gums	Not tested as standard. The lot list shows where each bag was collected, and an optical-rotation test on the lot can be arranged.	Test on request
Traceability	A purchase record for everything we buy, and a lot list that ties each bag to a collection area and date.	Standard
Export documents	Invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and phytosanitary certificate with every shipment.	Standard

Origin on customs records Tariff preference lists name Somalia, not Somaliland, so expect the origin to be recorded as Somalia (SO).^11,12 Ask your broker how to declare it before the first shipment.

Who issues each paper is set out on How it works.

Packing and shipping

Standard packing: 25 kg woven bags. Cartons, inner liners and custom packing on request.
Marks: Each bag carries its lot number. The same number is on the packing list and the invoice.
Port of loading: Berbera. FOB Berbera as standard, CIF to your port on request. How shipping from Berbera works.
Classification: Gum arabic is declared under HS 1301.20.^13,14 Duty by market.

Where it is collected

We buy the gum locally in Somaliland, where the tree grows in dry acacia woodland. For the lot you are offered, the lot list gives the area and date each bag was collected. We publish no general account of the districts or the months: ask us how the lot was gathered.

The Flora of Somalia records Acacia senegal under the Somali names adad, adat, cadaad and idaad, and calls the species very variable in Somalia: normally a small tree, with shrubby plants that some authors separate as the variety kerensis.⁸ A reference work on African plant resources reports that this variety does not appear to produce much gum in its native range.¹⁵ That is one more reason to test the lot.

Uses

The main uses of gum arabic are in confectionery, beverage emulsions, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, where it works as an emulsifier, stabiliser and thickener.^1,5

Whether a given lot suits a given use is settled by analysis of the lot. See the notes for food and beverage ingredient buyers.

Questions

Is your gum arabic food grade?: We do not describe it that way. Food grade, or E 414, is a statement about a lot that has been tested against the specification in force. Testing can be arranged on the lot you are offered, by an outside laboratory, before you order.
How does it compare with Sudanese hashab?: We do not claim it is equivalent. Hashab is the Sudanese name for gum from Acacia senegal,¹ the species that the name cadaad points to, but we know of no published analysis that compares the two origins. Test the sample.
Is it raw or processed?: Raw. We clean and sort it, and can kibble it on request. Powder, spray-dried and instant gum are a processor’s work.
How do you document origin for our supplier due diligence?: Every purchase is recorded: who sold it, where, when and what we paid. The lot list that comes with the shipment ties each bag to a collection area and date. See what goes on record.

Send us your grade, volume and test list.

We answer with what we can supply, a sample of the lot and a quotation for it.

Not ready to quote? Request a sample of a lot or message Canada on WhatsApp.

References

Published sources for the reference facts on this page, last read 7 October 2026. Statements about how Orivex Exports works are our own and are not drawn from these sources.

1UNCTAD (2018). Commodities at a glance: special issue on gum arabic. unctad.org
2CBI, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2025). Entering the European market for acacia gum. cbi.eu
3Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2026). Senegalia senegal (L.) Britton. Plants of the World Online. powo.science.kew.org
4CBI, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2025). The European market potential for acacia gum. cbi.eu
5Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (1999). Gum arabic (INS 414), specification. FAO JECFA Monographs. fao.org
6European Commission (2026). Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/196 of 28 January 2026 as regards acacia gum (E 414). Official Journal of the European Union. eur-lex.europa.eu
7Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2026). Vachellia seyal (Delile) P.J.H.Hurter. Plants of the World Online. powo.science.kew.org
8Thulin M. et al. (2008). Acacia senegal, in Flora of Somalia, volumes 1 to 4 (updated 2008). Reproduced on Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. powo.science.kew.org
9US Food and Drug Administration (2026). 21 CFR 184.1330, Acacia (gum arabic). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. ecfr.gov
10US Food and Drug Administration (2026). FSMA final rule on Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP). fda.gov
11UK Department for Business and Trade (2026). Preference tiers under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme. gov.uk
12European Commission, Taxation and Customs Union (2026). The Registered Exporter system (REX). taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
13Canada Border Services Agency (2026). Customs Tariff 2026, Chapter 13: lac; gums, resins and other vegetable saps and extracts. cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
14US International Trade Commission (2026). Harmonized Tariff Schedule, heading 1301. hts.usitc.gov
15Boer E. (2002). Acacia senegal (L.) Willd. PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa). uses.plantnet-project.org