According to the Nigeria Agribusiness Register Network, Nigeria’s Shea Butter market has the capability of yielding about $2bn annually. The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Youth Entrepreneurs in conjunction with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has trained about 200 youths and women from various parts of Oyo State on processing and packaging shea butter for exports for free.
According to the Coordinator, NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs, Oyo State, Segun Bolaji, processing and marketing of shea butter are the most challenging aspects of the value chain across the continent. This free training was a way to help improve the Shea butter value chain and improve the quality to international standards. Head, NEPC, Ibadan Export Assistance Office, Mrs Bolanle Emmanuel, therefore encouraged the participants at the training to engage with the knowledge they received and use it to better their lives.
Although the use and demand for shea butter is high locally and internationally, the supply is low and even more so with the quality, as it falls below international standards. Women in the rural areas, however, mainly occupy the Shea butter industry because of the traditional methods used for production coupled with various other issues facing the industry the quality is affected this has reduced the volume of exports and hampered income generation both for the farmers and the country.
