Govt pushes shea processing to boost exports

The Federal Government on Wednesday intensified efforts to transform Nigeria from a major exporter of raw shea nuts into a leading producer of high-value shea products, unveiling plans alongside industry stakeholders to deepen local processing and secure a larger share of the global market.

Despite accounting for more than 40 per cent of global shea nut production, Nigeria currently captures less than six per cent of the global shea butter market, a disparity the Nigeria Commodity Exchange says reflects years of exporting raw commodities with little value addition.

Data presented at the NCX Shea Programme Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja showed that Nigeria produced about 359,000 tonnes of shea nuts in 2024, making it the world’s largest producer.

However, the country continues to earn only a fraction of the value generated from processed shea products sold across Europe, North America and Asia.

The forum, themed “Adding Value at Home: A Fair Parent Market That Puts Nigerian Processors and Pickers First,” focused on strategies to restructure the shea value chain, improve market transparency and support domestic industrialisation.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, described the shea industry as a practical example of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to build an economy driven by value addition and profitable exports.

She said, “I heard about this engagement and, coming from somewhere and going somewhere else, I felt it was important to stop by and reiterate the significance of this initiative to the entire economy.

“The Shea story is essentially a pilot and a case study for the Renewed Hope Agenda and what we intend to achieve with commodities, with value addition and with the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

“I am particularly proud of the Nigeria Commodity Exchange, the Managing Director and his team because of where we started from since 2024 under the mandate of Mr President to ensure that our commodities create value domestically and also generate profitable exports for the economy.”

According to the minister, the framework being developed for the shea sector could serve as a blueprint for the development of other agricultural commodities.

She said, “I am glad that the transformational framework that we have all agreed upon through stakeholder engagements and validation exercises will deliver a situation where this economy and the shea value chain become an example of what we can do with cashew, sesame, ginger and several other commodities through value addition and processing.

“We are here from the ministry to support that mandate under item seven of the Renewed Hope Agenda. I was able to update Mr President two days ago. If you followed his visit to Kigali, he spoke about commodities, industrialisation and what we are doing in this regard.

“He does not like to talk too much; it is more about action. But he gave us this assignment, and we have been taking it very seriously indeed.”

Oduwole stressed that the success of reforms in the shea industry would depend largely on collaboration among stakeholders. “The most important thing for any reform to work is that we listen to stakeholders and work on it together. We must collectively put down some of our individual interests to accommodate others.

“I am imploring everyone across the value chain, processors, exporters and all participants, to focus on what is right for over 200 million Nigerians. There is a lot of profitability to be made across the shea value chain, and we are determined to support businesses because when you succeed, that is when we achieve our mandate of building a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030,” she stated.

Earlier, the Managing Director of the Nigeria Commodity Exchange, Anthony Atuche, said Nigeria’s vast shea resources had not translated into commensurate economic gains because of structural weaknesses in the sector.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to this inaugural Shea Stakeholders’ Forum on the future of Nigeria’s shea industry and the critical role that NCX will play in unlocking its full potential.

“Nigeria is blessed with one of the largest shea resources in the world. Across our communities, millions of women and rural households depend directly or indirectly on the shea value chain for income and livelihoods,” he said.

He recalled that the Federal Government had introduced restrictions on the export of shea products as part of efforts to encourage domestic processing. “In 2025, there was an initial ban on the export of shea goods by the Federal Government of Nigeria. That ban was subsequently extended in February 2026.

“The idea behind that decision was to prevent Nigeria from remaining merely a supplier of raw materials and instead become a supplier of value-added products, especially to support domestic processors,” he explained.

According to him, the industry still struggles with poor data systems, weak market structures and inadequate financing arrangements. He said NCX had been mandated to establish a value transformation framework that would improve transparency and build confidence in the market.

The NCX boss added that warehousing receipt systems would help improve traceability and strengthen confidence among market participants and financial institutions. He said industry-wide data sharing was essential to the success of the reforms, stressing that reliable data would enable effective planning and decision-making.

Atuche added that the proposed framework was not designed to undermine exporters but to balance local processing and export competitiveness, ensuring that both segments strengthen the industry.

The NCX chief also highlighted the central role played by women in the shea economy, noting that fair pricing, improved quality standards and accessible financing would strengthen livelihoods across the value chain.

Data presented at the forum showed that Nigeria’s shea sector is constrained by structural inefficiencies, including the export of raw nuts with little value addition, limited industrial processing capacity, fragmented informal trade, weak pricing mechanisms and poor quality assurance systems.

These challenges have reduced transparency in the market, weakened producers’ bargaining power and restricted access to premium international buyers.

It added that by continuing to export raw nuts, Nigeria forfeits the higher foreign exchange earnings and industrial benefits associated with processed shea products.

Addressing these constraints could significantly boost rural incomes, create jobs for women and young people, deepen industrialisation and increase foreign exchange earnings.