UN APERÇU SYNTHETIQUE SUR LA CERTIFICATION OU LA LABELISATION DE LA GOMME ARABIQUE AU MALI : SITUATION ACTUELLE ET PERSPECTIVES

In Mali, with a view to improving the production and quality of gum arabic, the project to strengthen the productive and commercial capacities of the arabic gum sector in Mali (PRCPCFGOM) was initiated in 2014 as an element of response to the challenges facing the sector faces, in particular the demands of the market. Among market requirements, quality takes first place. Gum from a country must have a certain quality label. Sudan, Nigeria and Chad are the only ones to label their Arabic gum. Sudanese operators come to buy gum in Mali, because they lack volumes, then resell under the Sudan label and capture the added value. This constitutes an economic aberration for Mali. To make up for this shortfall, Mali must export its gum with its own label. However, does Arabic gum from Mali meet the eligibility conditions for certification and labeling of a non-timber forest product? We attempted to answer this question by carrying out a qualitative analysis based on the application of the selection/eligibility conditions of a non-timber forest product for certification. Our analyses results show that only 20% of the eligibility conditions for certification are met by arabic gum from Mali. Thus, a lot of effort has been made to promote Malian gum in terms of quality but there is still work to be done to move towards labeling Malian gum. Key-words: Arabic gum, Certification, Labeling, Quality, Mali.