Nigeria targets $2.6bn shea market
The Executive Director of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nonye Ayeni says Nigeria is currently positioned to be a major exporter of shea to different parts of the world as part of efforts to boost foreign exchange earnings.
According to a Future Market Insights, Shea butter market outlook for 2022-2032, the global Shea butter market is currently valued at $2.6 billion, with compound annual growth rate projections estimated to grow to $5.8bn in the next five years.
Ayeni stated this at the ongoing annual conference of the Global Shea Alliance in Abuja, which is being hosted by the National Shea Product Association of Nigeria (NASPAN), with the theme “Bridging the Gap”.
“Nigeria is one of the major producers of Shea in the world. It is on record that presently, the country has about 5 million hectares of Shea trees, which are grown in about 21 states of the federation especially in Niger, Kebbi, Oyo, Kwara, Benue and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) respectively.
The opportunities for Shea to transform Nigeria’s economy include in the area of Job creation, Value Addition and Women Empowerment.
“A comprehensive hands-on capacity building session for Shea farmers, processors and exporters were incorporated in our export programme while the Council has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) under the Shea Export Development Project 2022-2025.
“The partnership with CBI is aimed at enabling a paradigm shift from export of raw Sheanuts to processing into high value exotic brands, certified as organic label ready to earn niche positioning in the African and other markets with a 30% increase in the value of export earnings,” she said.
Also speaking, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite said the government is making efforts to tackle some of the challenges faced by the Shea industry in Nigeria like lack of standard Shea processing facilities and lack of awareness on standards and best practices.