INDIAN MARKET OF GUAR GUM

Indian Guar Gum Market

Guar has been cultivated in India and Pakistan for ages for use of its tender pods as fresh vegetables and other parts of the plant to be used as cattle feed.

Guar is an important leguminous crop of arid and semi-arid regions. It is cultivated in northwestern states of India mainly Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Rajasthan ranks first in the area of cultivation and production. India alone contributes more than 80% of global guar production. The by-product of gum extraction process is a preferred animal feed as it contains 40% protein.

Guar is also known to be cultivated in Texas, USA, some parts of South Africa, Malawi etc., but not in very large commercial quantities. In India the sowing season for guar is end of July and it is harvested during November (usually 90 days crop).

For effective guar cultivation, the crop needs two rainfalls before sowing, one rainfall when the crop buds out and another rainfall when the crop comes up well and blossoming starts. Then it requires plenty of sunshine and dry weather to come up really well. During harvesting period it again needs good sunshine in order to dry up and become usable for industries.

Guar has been traditionally an annual crop cultivated in those areas, which are dependent upon monsoon rains. However, due to higher prices of guar during the second half of nineties and early twenties, farmers have been encouraged to cultivate second crop of guar in irrigated farms, which is harvested during September. This additional crop has played a major role in checking unwanted hoarding and speculating in guar. Also, it suffices any shortfall in the main crop that is harvested during November.

Guar Gum is derived from the seeds of the guar plant ‘Cyamopsis tetragonalobus’ belongs to the family Leguminosae. Guar Gum Powder is a white to yellowish white powder. It is almost odourless and fine powder. Guar Gum is available in different mesh sizes and viscosity. The guar seed consists of three parts: the seed coat (14-17%), the endosperm (35-42%), and the germ (43-47%). It is from the endosperm that guar gum is derived, which is the primary marketable product of the plant. This spherical-shaped endosperm contains significant amounts of galactomannan gum (19 to 43% of the whole seed), which forms a viscous gel in cold water.

India has been a dominant player in the context of guar and guar gum in the world market. The Arab traders introduced the crop in India and the place responded well to the crop’s cause. It has been the major producer of guar seeds in the world. India’s production contributes to 80% of the world’s total production figuring up to 6 lakh tons. Rajasthan wholly retains the credit for India’s position producing 70% of the production itself. But it has been observed that there is a lack of stability in India’s performance due to the fluctuations in the rainfall level in the country.

Guar is largely consumed as a vegetable in the Indian subcontinent. It is also used in making pickles. 25000 tons of the total production in the country constitutes to the domestic market. Guar gum has a vast range of industrial applications and the major share of demand comes from various industrial sectors only.

Production area in India:

India produces 600000 lakh tons of guar annually i.e. the maximum level of production in the world. It contributes to around 80% share in the world’s total production. Rajasthan can be termed as the largest guar producing state in the world as it dominates the Indian production scenario contributing to around 420000 tons of this crop i.e. over 70% of the total production in India. Haryana and Gujarat place themselves at the second and third positions regarding the production in India with 12% and 11% respectively. In Rajasthan, the districts where guar production is done are Churu, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Nagaur, Hanuman Garh, Jodhpur, Ganganagar, Jaipur, Sirohi, Dausa, Jhunjhunu and Sikar. The districts in Haryana indulged in the production of guar are Bhiwani, Gurgaon, Mahendragrh and Rewari and the districts in Gujarat are Kutch, Banaskantha, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Vadodara and Ahmedabad

Market Influencing Factors:

• Changes in production due rainfall fluctuation
• Demand and supply mismatch
• Hoarding and black marketing
• Government policies

Major Trading Market:

The major trading centers of guar and its derivatives in India. 

The main markets are in the Rajasthan - Jodhpur, Bikaner, Nokha, Nagaur, Merta

Guar is also traded in the various Indian commodity exchanges like National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange ltd, Multi Commodity Exchange of India ltd, National Multi Commodity Exchange of India ltd and Bikaner Commodity Exchange Ltd.

GLOBAL MARKET OF GUAR GUM

Guar Gum Global Market

Guar is largely consumed as a vegetable in the Indian subcontinent. It is also used in making pickles. 25000 tons of the total production in the country constitutes to the domestic market. Guar gum has a vast range of industrial applications and the major share of demand comes from various industrial sectors only.

It has become the major cash crop for Indian economies. India contributes 80% of guar gum production out of the world’s total production of guar gum which figures out to 6 lakh tons. The major importing countries of guar gum and its derivatives are USA, Germany, Italy, China, Denmark, France, UK, Netherlands, Japan and South Africa.

India is the leading net exporter of guar seeds and guar gum. The country exports over 117000 tons of guar and its derivatives, which is comprised by 33000 tons of refined split guar gum, and 84000 tons of treated and pulverized guar gum. The net worth of the Indian exports is estimated over Rs 500 crores. The major importing countries of Indian guar products are

• United States of America (12000 tons)
• Germany (5200 tons)
• France (1800 tons)
• United Kingdom (1200 tons)
• South Africa (1000 tons)
• Netherlands
• Italy
• Japan

Guar is basically a crop that is cultivated mostly in the arid and semi arid areas as it is drought resistant. That is why the Southern Asian continent suits well to the cultivation of this crop especially the Indian subcontinent. The powder made after refining the gum obtained from the plant makes an important raw material in many industries. This powder has some unique characteristics like grease resistance, thickening agent, capacity to bind water, high viscosity and the capability to function in low temperatures which makes it a highly popular in those sectors. Among other by- products of guar, guar gum powder is the main marketable commodity.

The world’s total production of guar figures around 7.5 to 10 lakh tons of guar every year. The production list of guar is dominated by India as a leading producer of this crop. The consumption pattern of guar seeds is largely influenced by the demands from the petroleum industry of United States of America and the oil fields in the Middle East as the derivative products of these seeds are quite useful in the petroleum drilling industries. United States alone constitute to around 40 thousand tons of guar and its derivatives demand. Also, in rest of the world, the trend of consumption has increased with time that has lead to the introduction of this crop in many countries.

India is also the world leader in the exports of guar and it’s by-products followed by Pakistan. The major countries indulged in the exports of guar gum are India, Pakistan, USA, Italy, Morocco, Spain, France, Greece, Germany.

The world market of guar is estimated at 1.5 lakhs tons annually. The major importer countries of the crop are Canada, China, Chile, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, USA, Ireland, Sweden, Greece, Portugal, Mexico.

Market Influencing Factors:

• Changes in production due rainfall fluctuation
• Demand and supply mismatch
• Hoarding and black marketing
• Government policies

Guar Gum – a Natural Thickening Agent     

     

Among various natural agro products, guar gum occupies a very important place, as it is a rich source of high quality galactomannan polysaccharide. Guar Gum is extracted from guar seeds grown in a plant about 4 feet high known as guar plant. This guar plant is grown in India and Pakistan sown in July and harvested in October. The seeds from this plant are allowed to dry in sun. After drying the seeds in the sun, they are separated and processed into a flour which is known as guar gum powder. The guar gum splits are also sold as they have many uses in various industries. The processing technique of guar gum depends on the requirement of the end product. The guar gum powder has more thickening ability than cornstarch. It not only works as a thickener but also works as binder and plasticizer as well. Guar gum is easily soluble in water and has a natural ability to bind with water molecules. Without a binder likeguar gum, different ingredients in might separate into watery mess as far as creamy processed foods are concerned.

Uses and Benefits of Guar Gum:

                    

Besides industrial extraction of guar gum from the plant, it is also used as the green vegetable and cattle feed. Guar gums such as hydrolysed, hydroxyalkyl, carboxyalkyl, oxidised, sulphated, borated, cationic and various combinations of these are commercially useful for a number of industrial applications. Guar Gum has many health benefits too. Taking guar gum with the meals can help in lowering blood sugar for diabetes patients. It also helps in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The thickening properties of guar gum have made it a popular additive in products like puddings and ice creams. Guar gum creates a sense of fullness in the stomach and so it is also used in diet pills. Guar gum has many advantageous properties due to which it has become most used thickening agent in the industries like paper and pulp industry, cosmetics industry, textiles, personal care, health care, pharmaceuticals, food, animal feed etc. The Guar Gum seeds is very useful in petroleum and drilling industry due to which the seeds are highly demanded in the petroleum industry of USA and the oil fields in the Middle East. Guar gum powder has many versatile uses in Industrial applications. Especially for industrial applications, guar gum is processed in such a way that fast hydration and cold water viscosity is obtained. Fast hydration guar gum powder is extensively used for oil drilling, explosives and other industrial applications where quick hydration and immediate high terminal viscosity is needed. Fast hydration guar gum powder for oil drilling applications is the most important use of guar gum as oil and gas, are the two most important pillars of modern industry and our way of life.

Guar Gum is mainly used:

• Natural thickener
• Emulsifier
• Stabiliser
• Bonding agent
• Hydrocolloid
• Gelling agent
• Soil Stabiliser
• Natural fiber

GUAR GUM- PROPERTIES AND STRUCTURE

BY PRODUCT OF GUAR- GUAR GUM

The seeds of the guar plant have three parts i.e. the germ, the endosperm and the husk. The popular guar gum, which used in mining, petroleum drilling and textile manufacturing sectors, is obtained from the endosperm of the seed of the plant. The gum is refined to make a yellowish white powder and it is consumed worldwide in this powder form only.

From Guar plant‘s (Cyamopsis tetragonolobus) endosperm Guar Gum is derivative. Guar is a legume (a plant of pea family) crop grows best in sandy soils and needs moderate, flashing rainfall with lots of sunshine. Guar gum is found in the seeds of two annual leguminous plants (Cyamopsis tetragonolobus and psoralioides).

Guar gum is useful as a thickening agent for water and as a reagent for adsorption and hydrogen bonding with mineral and cellulosic surfaces. It is an edible carbohydrate polymer.

It is non-ionic, free flowing, low pale white colored, coarse to fine grounded powder and is water-soluble hydrocolloids.

Guar gum is used as a thickener and emulsifier in commercial food processing. It has almost 8 times the thickening power as corn starch, and is used in dressings, sauces, milk products, and baking mixes. It is also used in paper manufacturing, textiles, printing, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Properties:

Guar gum is an emulsifier, thickener, and stabilizer approved for use in a wide range of foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. It is sold as a white to yellowish odorless powder, which is available in different viscosities and different granulometries depending on the desired viscosity. Its viscosity is a function of temperature, time, and concentration. One advantageous property of guar gum is that it thickens without the application of heat. Guar Gum has the following properties, which make it useful in variety of applications.        

The guar gum is a polysaccharide which in water gives hexose sugar, mannose and galactose. These hexose sugars are soluble both in cold and hot water but it is insoluble in most of the organic solvents. In water it gives high viscosity even used small quantity. Strong acids cause hydrolysis and loss of viscosity; alkalies in strong concentration also tend to reduce the viscosity. Adding borax solution will form a gelatinous mass. Guar gum is compatible with starch, alginate, agar etc.

	It is easily soluble in both hot and cold water.
	Properties of film forming.
	Remains stable in solution over wide range of pH values from
	5-7.
	Good thickening agent.
	High viscosity.
	Resistance to oils, greases and solvent.
	Capacity of Water binding.
	Functioning at low temperatures.
	Compatible with many other hydrocolloids used in food
	formulations.
	Versatility due to number of free hydroxy groups to
	make derivatives for specific applications.

Standard:

Minimum standards for good quality Guar Gum Powder have been defined in the United States FCC and by European Union Specification, E-412 as under.

Moisture :	Max. 12.00%
pH :	Max. 6.00 To 7.00
Protein :	Max. 04.60%
Ash(total) :	Max. 02.50%
Galactomannan :	Min. 80.00%

Viscosity, 1%, as is, cps,
2 hrs 3,500-5,500
24 hrs min. 90% of the 2-hr value
1% solution, 25°C, Brookfield RVT, Spindle 3 or 4.20 rpm.

Particle size, %

Through U.S. 60,min. 98

Through U.S. 200 max. 10

Typical Microbial Content

Aerobic Plate Count  :  10,000 / gm.

Yeast & Mould            :        500/ gm.

Coliform                       :         50/ gm.

E.Coli & Salmonella   :           absent

Guar Extracts:

Guar Split/Gum 28% (+/- 1% variance) extracts from Guar seed.
The ratio of Churi and Korma 67% depending upon the quality of the seed.

	Split/Gum is further refined to Guar Powder
	Churi and Korma are used for Cattle Feed

Guar Gum Chemical Stucture          

Guar Gum mainly consists of hydrocolloidal polysaccharide with a high molecular weight, which consists of galactopyranose- and mannopyranose- units in glycoside linkage which can be chemically described as galactomannan. The main chain consists of (1-4) linked beta-D mannose residues and the side chain of (1-6) linked alpha-D galactose. 
Guar gum has an overall ratio of mannose to galactose of around 2 : 1. Guar Gum has excellent cold water solubility because of the high galactose: mannose ratio.

The molecular weight of Guar has reported as 1-2 x 10 6. Further studies indicate that Guar Gum is a rigid rod like polymer because of the beta linkage between the monomer units. Guar hydroxylsare in the CIS position. The CIS position is important since adjacent hydroxyl groups reinforce each other in hydrogen bonding reactions.

Guar Gum : Structure Diagram   

Guar Gum Chemical Properties 

• Guar gum is an economical thickener and stabilizer. It hydrates fairly rapidly in cold water to give highly viscous pseudo plastic solutions of generally greater low-shear viscosity when compared with other hydrocolloids.
• High concentrations (~ 1%) are very thixotropic but lower concentrations (~ 0.3%) are far less so.
• Guar gum is also emulsifier as it has more galactose branch points.
• It does not form gels but does show good stability to freeze-thaw cycles.
• Guar gum shows high low-shear viscosity but is strongly shear-thinning. Being non-ionic, it is not affected by ionic strength or pH but will degrade at pH extremes at temperature for e.g. pH 3 at 50°C. With case in, it becomes slightly thixotropic forming a biphasic system containing casein micelles.
• Guar gum retards ice crystal growth non-specifically by slowing mass transfer across solid/liquid interface.
• Guar Gum is known as one of the best thickening additives,emulsifying additives and stabilizing additives.
• Guar gum has a polymeric structure, containing several hydroxyl groups. The various derivatives or industrial grades of Guar gum are manufactured by reaction of these hydroxyl groups with chemicals that aid in:

• Dispersion
• Control Viscosity
• Causing Gelling
• Act as preservatives

Quality:               

Guar gums quality assurance  examines the quality of raw materials, semi-finished and finished products. Following physical & chemical analysis of Guar Gum.

Odour	Acid insoluble residue
Colour	Ash content
Viscosity	Gum content
Granulation	Heavy metals
Moisture, pH	Insoluble
Protein	Filterability
Fat content

The microbiological performs bacteriological process control & testing of food grade products. Formulates microbiological analyses and testing.

Standard plate count	E-coli
Yeast count	Salmonella
Mold count	Staphylococcus
Coli form	Pseudomonas

GUAR GUM COMMERCIAL USES

Industrial Application of Guar Gum

Guar gum, extracted from the pods of the guar plant, is widely used as an emulsifier, thickener, and stabilizer in food and cosmetics. Guar gum is used in food as a thickening and binding agent. It is also used in textile, paper, pharmaceutical, oil and many other industries. After refine process, Guar Gum is used in various industries: in the food industry as a stabilizer, in ice creams instant puddings and whipped cream substitutes, as a meat binder and a stabilizer for cheeses, in industrial applications including cloth and paper manufacture, oil well drilling, explosives, ore flotation and many other applications.

Guar Gum is used as a Natural thickener, Emulsifier, Stabiliser, Bonding agent, Hydrocolloid, Geling agent, Soil Stabiliser, Natural fiber, Flocculant, Fracturing agent, etc.

The applications of Guar Gum in various industries are as follows:

Food Grade Guar Gum Powder          

Agro gums offers a wide range of grade guar gum powder for food industries. It is used as stabilizers, thickeners and emulsifiers in food industries for foods and food products.

Widely used in Food Industries
	In Ice Cream/	:	Provides smooth and creamier texture,
	Dairy Products		prevents formation of ice crystals and
			quick meltdown.
	In Bakery Products	:	Improves texture, crumb and structure,
			increases shelf life, and improves moisture
			retention. It also increases dough yield,
			shelf life.
	In Noodles	:	For Better sheet formation, as well as it
			improves moisture retention, texture and
			machine runnability, thereby increasing
			production.
	In Pet Food	:	As a viscosifier.
	In Pastry Ices	:	Absorbs free water as well as prevents
			excessive stickiness.
	In Processed	:	Improves texture and flavour and use as
	Cheese		Stabiliser.
	In Beverages	:	Controls viscosity, improves body and mouth
			feel and also improves shelf life.
	In Soups	:	For increase thickener and Stabiliser.
	In Noodles	:	Improves texture, form and moisture
			retention.
	In Meat	:	Use as a binder in sausages, it absorbs free
			water, improves flow rate, prevents
			separation and migration.
	In Dressings and	:	For Thickener, emulsion stabilizer and
	Sauces		improve flow properties.

Industrial Guar Gum Powder          

The company supplies a wide range of industrial guar gum powders suitable for use in painting, printing, fire control, dyeing, and textiles. As a stabilizer, thickener and suspending agent Guar gum can also be used in industrial applications and preparations.

Industrial Application
	In Construction	:	As waterproofing agent.
	In Textiles	:	For sizing and finishing.
	In Cosmetics and	:	As conditioner and viscosifier, thickener in
	Pharmaceuticals		toothpastes and shampoos, binder in
			tablets, to disintegrate compressed tablets
			and Mild laxative and soluble dietary fiber.
	In Paper	:	For improved sheet formation, increased
			bursting strength, fold strength, denser
			surface for printing and to get better finish.
	In Oil Field	:	For increase the production rate of oil and
			gas. The use of guar gum increases the oil
			recovery. Guar gum is used as a surfactant,
			synthetic polymer and defoamer ideally
			suited for all rheological requirements of
			water-based and brine-based drilling fluids.
	In Oil well drilling	:	As Fluid-loss controlling agent and
	and Fracturing		additives in fracturing fluids.
	In Mining	:	For concentration of ores and flocculation
			and better recovery.
	In Explosives	:	As water binding agent for aqueous slurry
			explosives.