The story is striking in itself: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two countries closely associated with the desert, import tons and tons of sand every year. So striking, in fact, that the first intuition is that it is false.
But, as soon as you get closer to it, you discover that not only is it true, but it is more interesting than it seems.
Because yes, these countries import a lot of sand. In 2023, the United Arab Emirates alone purchased more than six million tons. And it is surprising, of course, because these are two countries located on enormous deserts. The explanation, however, is simple: the sand they have is not suitable for certain things.
On a technical level, what is known as “aeolian sand” (that which the wind accumulates in dunes) is very fine, very uniform and very rounded. That makes it a poor sand for making glass, concrete or other industrial products. It is not that it cannot be used, but it requires adjusting the mixtures, controlling the granulometry and impurities (fines), and carefully balancing the manufacturing processes.
That is to say, the process ends up becoming so expensive that it is cheaper to import sand that is more suitable for standardized processes.
And this, ultimately, should not surprise us. Sand is, today, the second most exploited resource in the world (only after water). The United Nations Environment Program estimates that 50 billion tons of sand and gravel are used each year.
What’s more, the lack of sand is so evident that there are criminal networks that traffic in it internationally.
However, we are not talking about just any sand. There are, as is evident, many types of sand. For what is not of interest today we can distinguish natural sand (HS 250590) and siliceous/quartz sand (HS 250510). The Gulf countries import, above all, the second. Emirates, to give an example, spends half a million a year on the first and 87 million on the second.
That is to say, although they are countries ‘rich’ in sand, they do not have the sand they need. A sand, moreover, with very specific specifications (granulometry, purity, humidity, fines, contaminants, consistency of supply) and that are basic for glass, foundry, filtration or the chemical industry.
However, they also import natural sand. And this is interesting because, as the UN points out, this only makes clear the significance of the problem of governance and externalities. Despite having usable sand, in many cases it is preferred to Buy from other countries (such as Oman) to avoid the negative externalities of draining sand from their coasts and deserts. Something that can alter livelihoods (fishing, agriculture due to salinization, coastal tourism) and increase vulnerability to storms.
In the summer of 2019, the couple who were arrested in Sardinia for hiding 40 kilos of sand in their trunk became famous. That was the anecdote, the problem was another: that beyond mass tourism, the tensions on the sand are increasingly greater.
It is something that has only grown and is normal. The world is not here to do without one of its most valuable resources.
Image | Lars Portjanow
In WorldOfSoftware | We are running out of sand. And there are already traffickers who negotiate with it in India or Morocco
