President Bola Tinubu has ordered an immediate six-month temporary ban on the export of raw shea nuts, a move aimed at curbing informal trade and boosting local processing to grow Nigeria’s shea industry.
The directive, which will be reviewed upon expiration, is intended to help the country’s shea value chain generate an estimated $300 million annually in the short term.
Vice President Kashim Shettima announced the president’s decision at a multi-stakeholder meeting in Abuja, explaining that the ban is not an anti-trade policy but a “pro-value addition policy.”
He urged the Federal Ministry of Finance and other relevant government agencies to ensure its swift enforcement.
According to Shettima, the policy is designed to secure raw materials for local processing factories, enabling them to operate at full capacity.
This, he stated, will boost rural incomes and create jobs, ultimately transforming Nigeria from an exporter of raw shea nuts into a global supplier of refined shea butter, oil, and other derivatives.
Despite producing nearly 40% of the world’s shea products, Nigeria’s share of the $6.5 billion global market is less than 1%.
Shettima highlighted this as “unacceptable” and said the government’s target is to achieve a tenfold increase in earnings by 2027.
The ban, a collective decision involving both federal and state governments, is also seen as a policy for gender empowerment.
He noted that protecting the shea industry directly protects the livelihoods of millions of women who are the primary pickers and processors of shea nuts.
Furthermore, Shettima revealed that during Tinubu’s visit to Brazil, both nations agreed to prioritize access for Nigerian shea butter and oil into the Brazilian market, a process expected to be completed within three months.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, reiterated the need for the ban.
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He explained that a rapid assessment of the shea value chain revealed that over 90,000 metric tonnes of raw shea are lost annually to informal cross-border trade.
He added that Nigeria’s processors are currently operating at a low capacity of only 35% to 50% despite having an installed capacity of 160,000 metric tonnes.
Kyari noted that neighboring countries like Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Togo have already imposed similar restrictions, leaving Nigeria vulnerable to unregulated trade.
Both the Shettima and the Minister stressed that the policy aligns with the administration’s focus on economic transformation, rural development, and women’s empowerment, paving the way for Nigeria to capture a significant portion of the projected $9 billion global shea market by 2030.
