Cost
Gum arabic prices depend on a multitude of different factors such as time of year, location of harvest, and location of trader (World Bank, 2007). As seen below there are two breakdowns of the value chain of Gum Arabic. (Tables from World Bank)
It is evident that the gum arabic that was purchased from the Um Rwaba Village of Sudan in 2006 was the cheapest option with a $959/MT difference between the two February values. The labour cost for the grading and cleaning of the gum arabic by the Damazine trader had a variance from $48-$51 in the Blue Nile chain to only $10 by the Um Ruwaba trader in the Kordofan chain. Transportation costs in May 2006 for the Blue Nile equaled that of the Kordofan transportation which was a $29 cost, while the month of February totaled at $40/MT. The input costs made by Agrocorp international would vary depending on what the trading and transport costs were within the gum arabic production chain that month. An estimation of cost could be anywhere between $2300-$4000/MT for the purchase of the gum arabic from the GAC Port Sudan location.