Locust Bean Gum (LBG) World Market
Locust bean gum (locust bean gum, LBG or E410) is a natural thickener obtained from the endosperm of carob seeds and is considered the most valuable product of carob. It has a wide range of uses, from ice cream to dairy products, from pet food to medicines and cosmetics.
The supply is entirely dependent on the carob yield in the Mediterranean, making the LBG market a fluctuating and sensitive market. In this article, we discuss the demand areas of LBG, supply-side constraints, general factors affecting the price, and market data sources.
What is Carob Gum and Why is it Valuable?
The carob kernel consists of three parts: the outer shell, the endosperm, and the embryo. The carob gum is obtained by separating and grinding the endosperm from these parts. The European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) 2017 reassessment report defines the carob gum, known as E410, as a food additive obtained from the ground endosperm of the seeds of the Ceratonia siliqua tree and permitted in the European Union.
The technical value of carob gum comes from the polysaccharide called galactomannan. This component forms a viscous structure when it comes into contact with water; it gives products consistency, stability and desired texture. Barak and Mudgil's review, published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, discusses in detail the processing, properties and food applications of carob gum.
The economically striking point is this: the kernel makes up a small part of the carob fruit by weight. According to a 2024 review by researchers from the University of the Algarve, the flesh makes up 80–90 percent of the fruit weight, while the kernel makes up 10–25 percent; despite this, the most valuable products of the fruit are obtained from the kernel. For this reason, the phrase "the kernel determines the value of the fruit" is frequently used in the carob industry. We discuss the chemical structure of the carob gum and its approval status as an additive in detail in a separate article; in this article, we focus on the market side.
Demand Areas: Where is LBG Used?
Carob gum is one of the most widely used natural hydrocolloids in the food industry. A comprehensive 2023 review examining carob seed components states that the gum is used as a thickener and stabilizer in the food industry, preferred over other thickeners such as guar gum and carrageenan in some applications. The same review also touches on uses in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and textile industries.
The main demand areas can be summarized as follows:
- Ice cream and frozen desserts: controlling ice crystal formation and texture regulation
- Dairy: consistency and stability in cream cheese, yogurt and desserts
- Foods for infant and special medical purposes
- Sauces, creams and ready-made desserts
- Pet foods: jelly structure, especially with carrageenan
- Non-food applications such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and textiles
Information on the use of pet food is noteworthy: carob gum forms a jelly-like structure when combined with carrageenan, and this property is widely used in canned animal food. EFSA's report states that carob gum was accepted by the EU Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) for use in weaning period (supplement) foods in 1991 and in infant formulas for special medical purposes in 1994. Portuguese media reports also highlight the food uses of the bean, such as pudding additives, infant formulas and ice cream stabilizers.
This wide range of uses ensures that the demand for LBG is not dependent on a specific industry. However, it also creates a fragmented market where buyers have different expectations for quality, purity, and viscosity.
The Supply Side: Why It's Narrow and Fluctuating?
The most important feature of the LBG market is that the supply is inelastic. Unlike gums obtained from an annual plant such as guar gum, locust bean gum is obtained from the seed of a long-lived tree that takes years to bear fruit. This makes it almost impossible to increase supply according to demand in the short term.
The main factors limiting supply are:
- Concentration of production in several Mediterranean countries
- It takes a long time for trees to bear fruit
- Aging of groves and long-term decline in world production
- Drought and weather-related yield fluctuations
- The seed makes up only a small part of the fruit
According to the review published in the Turkish Journal of Botany, world carob production decreased from approximately 650 thousand tons in 1945 to approximately 184 thousand tons in the 2012-2021 average. The authors list the aging of orchards, the absence of renewal programs and the scarcity of new plantings among the reasons for the decline. Every decrease in fruit production is directly reflected in the supply of seeds and therefore LBG.
A concrete example of yield fluctuations is Portugal. According to the news of SIC Notícias in 2022, approximately 30 thousand tons of carob were produced in the Algarve in 2021, while a decrease of up to 40 percent was expected in the next harvest due to drought. In the Portuguese range at FAOSTAT, production also decreased from 64,895 tons in 2014 to 34,398 tons in 2015.
From Kernel to Gamma in the Value Chain
The LBG value chain begins with the crushing of the carob fruit. In crushing plants, the kernels are separated from the fruit flesh and the kernel is sent to the gum factories. In the gum factories, the hard shell of the kernel is peeled, the endosperm is separated from the embryo and ground. The study of Dakia et al., published in Food Hydrocolloids, shows that different methods in the hulling process, such as pre-treatment with acid or water, affect the composition and physicochemical properties of the resulting gum. This reveals that processing technology is decisive in product quality and therefore market value.
The countries that produce the kernel and the countries that produce the gum are not always the same. According to FAO's Morocco document dated 2025, Morocco has about 15 kernel crushing enterprises with a total capacity of over 80 thousand tons, but most of the kernels are exported unprocessed. According to the document, Morocco exports approximately 13 thousand tons of carob kernels per year, while gum exports remain at an average of 825 tons. In Portugal, according to a 2005 report, the kernel processing industry in the Algarve exports to Europe, China, Japan and the USA, some of which are part of multinational food ingredient companies.
This structure indicates that there are several types of players in the LBG market: fruit pickers and traders, crushing plants, kernel traders, gum manufacturers, and food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic companies that use the range in their formulations.
Trading Data: What Do We Know?
Monitoring LBG's international trade is not easy due to the structure of customs classification. The feasibility report of the Çukurova Development Agency dated 2021, based on TradeMap data, describes world trade in customs item 1302.32 as follows:
| Year | World exports (thousand US dollars) | World imports (thousand US dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 273.586 | 249.659 |
| 2016 | 259.828 | 249.570 |
| 2017 | 269.064 | 259.050 |
| 2018 | 270.875 | 275.242 |
| 2019 | 254.000 | 249.667 |
When reading this table, it is necessary to pay attention to an important detail: The item 1302.32 covers not only carob gum but also thickeners obtained from guar seed. The report states that in 2019, the largest exporter of this item was China and the largest importer was Japan; China's prominence may be related to the fact that the item also includes guar-based products. Therefore, these figures do not indicate the size of the carob gum market, but the total trade of carob and guar-based thickeners.
The same report states that Turkey's trade in this item is very small and was mainly in the form of imports in the 2016-2020 period, with TurkStat data. This table suggests that Turkey is not yet an important exporter in carob gum production, and carob seeds are considered as raw materials.
General Factors Affecting Price
The prices of LBG and carob seeds have experienced remarkable fluctuations over the past decade. We do not provide specific price figures in this article; however, the main factors that determine the direction of prices are as follows:
- Carob yield and seed supply in the Mediterranean
- Demand from the ice cream, dairy and animal food sectors
- Price and availability of substitute products such as guar gum
- Purity, viscosity and microbiological quality class of the gum
- Exchange rates and freight costs
- Stock levels and buyers' long-term contract strategies
The increase in the value of carob fruit in recent years has had remarkable results in producing countries. In the news about police operations in the Valencia region of Spain in 2020 and 2022, it was stated that carob prices have increased approximately fivefold in recent years, which has increased thefts. In the Algarve region of Portugal, it has been reported that carob theft complaints increased significantly in 2022 compared to the previous year. We discuss the factors affecting prices in more detail in a separate article.
Regulatory Framework and Quality Expectations
The carob gum has an internationally established approval history. According to the EFSA report, the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) established an "not specified" acceptable daily intake value for the carob gum in 1981. EFSA's 2017 assessment also concluded that there were no safety concerns in the reported uses for the general population, but noted that the available data for infants and young children consuming foods for special medical purposes do not allow for an adequate assessment.
In terms of the market, this means that buyers attach great importance to product specifications and documentation. In the EU, the purity criteria for E410 are established by Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012. Sensitive segments such as infant and food for special medical purposes are areas where the highest quality and documentation expectation exists.
Opportunities for Turkey
According to FAOSTAT data, Turkey is one of the few countries that has significantly increased its carob production in the last decade: production increased from 13,985 tons in 2014 to 25,000 tons in 2024. This increase means that the supply of kernels is also growing.
The narrow and fluctuating supply structure of the LBG market presents two distinct opportunities for Turkey:
- To respond to the raw material needs of gamut manufacturers with the supply of quality, clean and classified cores
- In the long term, processing the kernel domestically and transforming it into high value-added products
In both paths, the key elements that buyers expect are the same: traceability, consistent quality on a batch-by-batch basis, regular supply and complete documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is carob gamut (LBG)? It is a natural thickener and stabilizer derived from the endosperm of the carob kernel, known by the code E410.
In which industries is LBG most commonly used? Ice cream, dairy products, desserts, sauces, baby food and pet food are the main areas of use. It is also used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and textile industries.
Why do LBG prices fluctuate? Supply is entirely dependent on carob yields in several Mediterranean countries and cannot be increased in the short term. Yield, demand, substitute products and exchange rates all affect the price together.
Is guar gum the same as carob gum? Both are galactomannan-structured thickeners, but they are obtained from different plants. In customs statistics, it is necessary to be careful when interpreting trade data as they can be monitored under the same item (1302.32).
Carob Seed Supply with Carob Türkiye
The key input of the carob gamut market is clean and accurately graded carob kernel. As Carob Türkiye Carob seeds We supply carob fruit, cracks, flour/powder and extract, especially About the structure of the seed and its place in gum production What is Carob Seed? You can read our article, for your wholesale and export requests. Contact Now You can contact us on our page.
Domestic resources
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org/ 10. 55730/ 1300- 008X. 2748 Foreign sources
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