SAN DIEGO — Prices for guar gum, an ingredient used in grain-based foods applications, last week fell to about $15 per kilogram, or about $6.80 per lb, from about $20 per kilogram, or about $9.10 per lb, according to the June 7 issue of “Hydrocolloid News,” an e-mail newsletter sent out by IMR International, a hydrocolloid consulting company in San Diego.
"These are very rough numbers and are for indicative purposes only,” the newsletter said. “Buyers are having to check daily if not hourly. Efforts to replace guar in all applications remain unchanged for now.”
Guar gum once cost under $1 per lb, but demand from the oil and gas industry has bumped up its price over the past 12 to 18 months.