Guar Gum – Factors Influencing Demand of Guar Gum Powder

What is Guar gum? Guar gum is a polymer obtained from the beans of guar. When mixed with water, it converts it to a vicious liquid. This property is the basis for its wide applications across several industries! Where is Guar gum manufactured? India tops the manufacturer list producing more than three-fourths of the total amount, followed by USA, Pakistan and Africa. Within India, the production list is dominated by Rajasthan. guar gum powder What are the important properties responsible for its use? Guar gum is almost 8 times more potent in causing the thickening of water as compared to cornstarch. Chemically it is a polysachharide. Which are the industries that require Guar gum? In a nutshell almost all of the guar gum is utilized by the food and drink industry. But even apart from these, there are several other applications of guar gum in different industries. These applications play a major role to determine the demand of guar gum to a particular country.
  1. Lets start with the food industry.
  2. Usually gluten is used to thicken water and other thin liquids. But guar gum has pretty much replaced the same.
  3. Canned soups and dry soups both contain guar gum as a thickener.
  4. Milk, liquid cheese, chocolates etc are mixed with guar gum to give consistency to the same.
  5. To maintain the consistency and stability of salad dressing.
  6. It also functions to bind the meat.
  7. Ice-cream and frozen products contain guar gum which prevents the formation of ice crystals.
  • Moving on to the cosmetic industries, guar gum is used as an emulsifier and as a thickener in shampoos, conditioner, liquid soaps.
  • Medicines contain guar gum powder to bind on to the constituents. It also forms a major constituent of the bulk-forming laxatives which preferentially work by increasing the feces mass in colon. Guar gum being inert and relatively harmless plant product, is used a lot in this area.
  • Oil and petroleum industries also form a major part in consumption of guar gum.
  • For the formation of cracks in rocks, water alone is too thin to carry the sand and develop enough hydraulic pressure for thr same. So it is mixed with guar gum to increase its viscosity. This industry consumed almost 90% of India’s guar gum produce in the past years.
  • Its use as a emulsifier depends on the ability to keep the water and oil separate.
  • It also acts as a stabilizer to prevent the settling of particles.
  • Guar gum is used to prepare smoother and more thin sheets of paper.
Which are the major importer countries for guar gum? Canada and China are one of the biggest dealers followed by United Kingdom, USA, Australia, etc. Several factors that influence the demand of guar gum across different countries.
  • The production within the country. This ought to be important as very few countries produce enough to meet their needs.
  • Major use of guar gum within the country. This mostly is food industry, but the contribution of the food industry to the country’s market plays s role in determining this. Most of the guar gum purchase by USA is consumed by the oil and petroleum industry. As this industry plays an irreplaceable role, it is quite an important factor.
  • Other industries utilizing the guar gum powder and the contribution of these to the country’s market.
  • Government rules and regulations that govern the import export of the product.
  • Demand also depends on the availability of other substituted and the cost of guar gum as compared to the total cost of the final product.
  • In the energy sector, the demand of guar is mainly inelastic and hence it is inevitable to grow over time.

 

Cassia Gum

Guar Gum