The Director General of the World Trade Organisation Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says it is crucial look at the shea value chain beyond farming and processing the butter to manufacturing more finished shea products.
Okonjo-Iweala said this during the opening of the 16th international chef conference in Nigeria organized by the Global Shea Alliance, GSA and the National Shea Products Association of Nigeria, NASPAN in Abuja Nigeria’s capital.
She revealed that currently over 16 million women in west Africa make a living from farming and processing shea nuts stating that it is estimated that women make 237 million dollars in direct income from shea.
According to Okonjo-Iweala “85% of all shea export are used as cocoa butter equivalent and 15% are used for cosmetics the cosmetic shea butter market is currently worth over 600 million dollars and its expected to reach about 850 million dollars by the end of 2027.”
She called on the conference to deliberate how both the continent and more specifically African women can further benefit from the shea sector
“Despite the clear benefits and advantages shea brings to women much of the potential of this sector is still untapped, a lot of share product does not meet the sanitary and phytosanitary measures required for export and this has hindered many countries from being able to export.”
“At the WTO shea is one of the main agricultural exports of over eight of our members Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Togo, in Ghana alone, shea butter exports were valued at over $92 million in 2022, and over 1 million women are involved in this sector.” She added.
The Chargé d’ Affaires for the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, David Greene said the United States government and USAID recently invested more than $8 million under its sustainable shea initiative to support the industry in seven West African countries including Nigeria.
David Greene who is also the representative of the Global Shea Alliance said the the investment stems from the US recognition of the industry’s potential to bolster the economic landscape and advance women’s economic empowerment.
“When it comes to shea specifically, we’re proud that US Agency for Iinernational Developments assistance to Nigeria has trained 5000 Women Shea collectors, established nine cooperatives provided 43 warehouses and facilitated over $1 million in private sector investment in Nigeria, resulting in nearly 2500 jobs for women and youth.”
“With USAID support the global Shea Alliance established a processing Centre in Ogun state in partnership with tropical general investments group Nigeria, as we know as we have heard boost the largest population of shea trees and Shea collectors positioning this country as a potential hub for production processing and innovation in the food and cosmetic industries across West Africa.”
The Nigerian Minister of Industry Trade and Investment Doris Uzoka-Anite said the government is also making efforts to tackle some of challenges faced by Shea industry in Nigeria such as indiscriminate falling of Shea trees, lack of standard Shea processing facilities and lack of awareness on best practices.
The Minister who was represented by the Director Industrial Inspectorate department, Mrs Aniete Umuessien revealed that relevant Government agencies are making concerted efforts to maximize the potentials of the Shea sector in Nigeria thereby increasing export volume and global supply of Shea products.
“The administration is committed to building sound regulatory environment and enhancing support structures available for women and youths in business.”
“Let me also use this opportunity to encourage all stakeholders here present today to take advantage of the policies of Government on the ease of doing business in Nigeria in order to boost competitiveness of our products, attract and retain investments, thereby generating more employment opportunities.” She added.
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