The Federal Government has approved a six-month temporary ban on the export of raw shea nut to curb informal trade, boost local processing, protect and grow local shea industry. The ban, which is with immediate effect, is subject to review on expiration and specifically aimed at boosting Nigeria’s shea value chain to generate around US$300 million annually in the short term.
This piece of information was given by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha. The Vice President Kashim Shettima, had announced the President’s directive during a multi-stakeholder meeting at the Presidential Villa, as he called on the Federal Ministry of Finance and other relevant government agencies to fast-track enforcement. The Vice President said the decision was not “an anti-trade policy, but a pro-value addition policy designed to secure raw materials for our processing factories and enabling industries to run at full capacity, thereby boosting rural income and jobs for our people”.
Shettima added that the decision “will transform Nigeria from an exporter of raw shea nut to a global supplier of refined shea butter, oil and other derivatives. It is about industrialisation, rural transformation, gender empowerment and expanding Nigeria’s global trade footprint. Nigeria produces nearly 40% of the global shea product, yet we account for only 1% of the market share of $6.5bn. This is unacceptable. We are projected to earn about US$300m annually in the short term, and by 2027, there will be a 10-fold increase. This is our target”. The Vice President explained that the ban was a collective decision involving the sub-nationals and the Federal Government, with clear directions for economic transformation in the overall interest of the nation.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, regretted that despite being the world’s largest producer of shea nut, contributing nearly 40% of global supply, as Nigeria captures less than 1% of the multi-billion-dollar global shea economy. He said, “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 US$6.5bn-dollar global market is less than 1%. The Rapid Assessment of the Shea Value Chain, conducted by the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU), the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and in close collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, provided the evidence that shaped this presidential directive”.
The minister said the assessment showed that over 90,000 metric tonnes of raw shea are lost each year in informal cross-border trade, even as Nigeria’s “processors operate at only 35 to 50% capacity despite a national installed capacity of 160,000 metric tonnes”. Kyari revealed that with the Tinubu administration’s focus on women empowerment and the pledge by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security “not only to support the rural population, but also to create a pathway for national economic development. The reasons for this presidential directive are clear. Without corrective action, Nigeria risked becoming a raw depot for opportunistic and illicit buyers, undermining our processors’ capacities, dis-empowering rural women, and forfeiting billions in potential export revenues”, he stated further.
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