Just In: Tinubu Orders Six Months Ban On Raw Shea Nut Export

President Bola Tinubu Tuesday 26 August, 2025 ordered temporary ban on the export of raw shea nuts, with immediate effect.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, who made this disclosure at the presidential villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, Abubakar Kyqri, said the move is to curb informal trade, boost processor utilization, capture higher export value and stabilize the sector.
The six-month ban is specifically aimed at boosting Nigeria’s shea value chain to generate around $300 million annually in the short term.
According to Kyari, the step aligns with similar efforts in other African countries such as Ghana and Burkina Faso, where phased or indefinite bans on raw shea nut exports have been implemented to boost domestic processing capacity and create jobs in the industry.
In March 2024, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general (DG) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), said over 16 million women in west Africa make living from farming and processing shea nuts.
While Okonjo-Iweala estimated that women rake in about $237 million in direct income from shea, she added that 85 percent of all shea exports are used as cocoa butter equivalence and 15 percent are used for cosmetics
According to her, the cosmetics shea butter market is currently worth over $600 million.
The DG added that the shea butter market is expected to reach about $850 million by the end of 2027.
Shea fruit is nutritious, providing carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, along with vitamins and minerals, and is used to supplement food security in some African regions. Its pulp is eaten raw, cooked, or used for jams, jellies, wine, and added to baked goods. The fruit’s kernels are processed into shea butter, a widely used cosmetic ingredient with anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, and healing properties for the skin and hair, while traditional uses of the tree’s parts include treating various ailments.