By Femi Akinola
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nonye Ayeni, has disclosed that five million hectares of shea trees are being cultivated in 21 states across the country.
Nigeria is one of the major producers of shea in the world. Presently, the country have about five million hectares of shea trees which are grown in about 21 states in the country especially in Oyo, Kwara, Kebbi, Niger, Benue and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. There is therefore ready market for quality shea butter from Nigeria in the international market, NEPC boss noted.
The Shea tree, native to the Savannas of West Africa, produces the Shea nut being used in producing shea butter, which is a source of income and can be used for medicinal purposes.
It is estimated that women make huge direct income from shea while 85% of all she exports are used as cocoa butter and 15% are used for cosmetics.
Ayeni made these disclosure during the 2024 Shea Annual Conference organised by Global Shea Alliance at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
She told the delegates at the conference that the NEPC was doing a lot to enhance the production of the commodity in Nigeria to meet international standards for the country to make additional revenue from shea.
She urged delegates to take a cursory look at the global value of shea production and export in 2023, noting that the production and value of shea along the value chain was $2.17 billion, while it was expected to grow to as a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 7.1% by 2030.
”Global market value for chocolate is estimated to be approximately $113. 16 billion in 2021 ans expected to reach $156.74 billion in 2030. For the cosmetics industry, it stands at $380.2 billion and is expected to reach $453 billion in 2026.
”Presently, more countries like India, Japan and South Korea are approving the use of shea butter as cocoa butter equivalent, apart from China, Italy and Netherlands, that are among leading importers of shea butter.
In the mean time, the Director General, World Trade Organisatio (WTO) and former Nigeria’s Finance Coordinating Minister, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, charged Nigeria and other African countries to improvethe quality of their shea exports saying a lot of the commodities do not meet the sanitary and phytosanitary measures required for export.
She also pointed out to delegates while partaking virtually in the Annual Shea Conference that despite the clear benefits and advantages in the production of shea, much of the potential of this commodity was still untapped.