LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) – The Nigerian government has banned the export of raw shea nuts, an essential ingredient in many cosmetics, and is cultivating the country into a global supplier of sophisticated shea butter and other skincare ingredients.
Vice President Kasim Shetima said an immediate ban on crops would be introduced for six months and then reviewed.
Nigeria follows an increasing list of other West African countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Ivory Coast and Ghana, which have banned or restricted the export of crops in the past two years.
“The ban will change Nigeria from raw sheanut exporters to a global supplier of refined shea butter, oils and other derivatives,” Shettima said Tuesday.
He added that the decision was “not a trade prevention policy, but an additional pro-foreign policy designed to protect raw materials in processing plants,” and would boost the income and work of rural workers.
Raw Shea Nut is ground and processed to produce shea butter, an important ingredient in manufacturing products such as lotions, shampoos, conditioners, and moisturizers.
“This is one of the most important foundations for skincare. Many people in particular are leaning towards non-toxic skincare,” said Zainab Bashir, a dermatologist based in Abuja.
Nigeria accounts for 40% of global crop supply, but according to the Vice President, it contributes only 1% of the $6.5 billion global market share of SHEA products.
The measure comes weeks after Northern Niger opened a shea butter processing plant, which he described as one of Africa’s biggest.
Officials said if the export ban is in effect, it is expected to generate $300 million in the short term and $3 billion by 2027.
Experts argue that such efforts need to involve more investments to grow the domestic industry.
“The ban appears to suggest that the government has identified the supply gap issue, but the export ban rarely locks current domestic production just for Nigerian processors,” Ikemesit Efiong, a partner at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based risk advisory firm, told The Associated Press.
The move appeared to contradict Nigerian President Bora Tinubu’s long-standing trade policy. Bora Tinubu positioned the country as a free market economy by removing a series of subsidies on essential commodities such as fuel and electricity. Tinubu also raised the country’s currency and overturned a ban on importing dozens of items by the former government.
