Nigeria Bans Raw Shea Exports in Bid to Capture $300m Global Market

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday ordered an immediate six-month suspension on the export of raw shea nuts.

The policy is designed to strengthen local processing, secure raw materials for domestic industries, and enable Nigeria to capture a significant share of the international shea market, valued at $6.5 billion.

Vice President Kashim Shettima announced the directive during a multi-stakeholder meeting at the Presidential Villa, emphasising that the ban is a strategic effort to add value within Nigeria rather than export raw materials.

He described the policy as “pro-value addition” and central to the administration’s rural transformation and gender empowerment agenda.

“This is not an anti-trade policy but a pro-value addition policy 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 stated.

He highlighted the stark disparity between Nigeria’s production and its market returns: although the country produces nearly 40 per cent of global shea output, it accounts for only one per cent of the international market.

The new measure is projected to generate at least $300 million annually in the short term, with ambitions to increase that figure tenfold by 2027.

The Vice President also revealed that the federal government is in advanced talks with Brazil to secure market access for Nigerian shea butter and oil within the next three months.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, provided further context, noting that Nigeria produces approximately 350,000 metric tonnes of shea annually but loses over 90,000 metric tonnes to informal cross-border trade.

He pointed out that neighbouring countries including Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Togo have already imposed similar export restrictions, making Nigeria a target for opportunistic buying and undermining local processors.

Currently, Nigeria’s processing plants are operating at only 35 to 50 per cent of their 160,000-metric-tonne capacity due to insufficient raw material supply.

The temporary export prohibition is intended to secure domestic supply, curb illegal trading, and support the transition to exporting higher-value shea products such as butter, olein, and stearin.

The shea sector is particularly crucial for rural women, who constitute more than 90 per cent of pickers and processors. Investing in the value chain is therefore seen as integral to sustainable livelihoods and women’s economic empowerment.

With over five million hectares of wild shea trees, Nigeria possesses a natural advantage that officials believe can be leveraged not only for production but for global leadership in value-added shea products.