President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a six-month temporary ban on the export of raw shea nuts. The move aims to curb informal trade, strengthen local processing industries, and boost Nigeria’s shea value chain.
The ban, effective immediately, is subject to review upon expiration and is projected to generate around $300 million annually in the short term.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who announced the directive on Tuesday during a multi-stakeholder meeting at the Presidential Villa, emphasised that the decision was not an anti-trade policy but rather “a pro-value addition policy.”
“The decision is designed to secure raw materials for our processing factories and enable industries to run at full capacity, thereby boosting rural income and jobs for our people,” Shettima said.
The Vice President added that the ban would help transform Nigeria from an exporter of raw shea nuts into a global supplier of refined shea butter, oil, and derivatives.
“This is about industrialisation, rural transformation, gender empowerment and expanding Nigeria’s global trade footprint,” he said.
Highlighting Nigeria’s untapped potential, Shettima noted that while the country produces nearly 40% of the world’s shea, it only controls 1% of the $6.5 billion global market.
“This is unacceptable. We are projected to earn about $300 million annually in the short term, and by 2027, there will be a 10-fold increase. This is our target,” he stressed.
Shettima also revealed that President Tinubu, currently visiting Brazil, has secured an agreement to prioritise access for Nigerian shea butter and oil in the Brazilian market, a process expected to be completed within three months.
“We are not closing doors; we are opening better ones. Today, we plant the seeds of an industry that will yield fruit for decades to come, for our women, for our economy, and for Nigeria’s place in global trade,” Shettima said.
At the meeting, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, lamented Nigeria’s low share in the global shea economy despite being the largest producer, contributing nearly 40% of global supply.
“Nigeria produces an estimated 350,000 metric tonnes of shea annually across 30 states, with the potential to reach nearly 900,000 metric tonnes. Yet our share of the 6.5-billion-dollar global market is less than one per cent,” Kyari said.
He disclosed that a Rapid Assessment of the Shea Value Chain conducted by the Presidential Food Systems Coordination Unit (PFSCU), in collaboration with relevant ministries, revealed that over 90,000 metric tonnes of raw shea are lost annually to informal cross-border trade.
Nigeria’s processors, he said, operate at just 35–50% of capacity despite a national installed capacity of 160,000 metric tonnes. By contrast, regional neighbours such as Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Togo have already imposed export restrictions to protect their industries.
Kyari stressed that the shea sector could generate more than $300 million annually in the short term and help Nigeria capture a significant share of the projected $9 billion global market by 2030.
“Shea is one of the few commodities where our country holds both a comparative and absolute advantage. With over five million hectares of wild-growing shea trees, Nigeria can dominate in production and value-added processing,” he said.
The Minister also highlighted the gender dimension of the policy.
“Since 90% of pickers and processors of shea are women, investment in this value chain directly translates into women’s empowerment, rural job creation, and sustainable livelihoods,” Kyari noted.
According to him, Nigeria risked being left as a raw depot for opportunistic buyers without corrective action while losing billions in potential revenue.
“The PFSCU rapid assessment, which engaged over 2,000 pickers and 65 processors, confirmed the urgent need for action. Informal exports, estimated at 90,000 metric tonnes annually, are draining our domestic supply,” he said.
Source: FMIC
