Nigeria’s Shea butter, Others Below International Standards-WTO
By Abimbola Kintum
The World Trade Organisation (WTO), has stated that the shea butter being produced in Nigeria does not meet international standards.
The Director-General, WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who stated this while delivering a virtual address at the 2024 Shea Annual Conference organised by the Global Shea Alliance in Abuja, said it was crucial to look at the shea value chain beyond farming and processing for butter.
Hence, she charged Nigeria and other African countries to improve the quality of their shea exports.
According to her, shea butter being produced in Nigeria and some other commodities do not meet the sanitary and phytosanitary measures required for export.
It also pointed out that despite the clear benefits and advantages in the production of shea, much of the potential of this commodity was still untapped.
She said, “At the WTO, shea is one of the main agricultural export of over eight of our members including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Togo. In Ghana alone, shea butter exports were valued at over $92m in 2022, and over one million women are involved in this sector.
“However, despite the clear benefits and advantages that shea brings to our women, much of the potential of this sector is still untapped. A lot of our shea products do not meet the sanitary and phytosanitary measures required for export, and this is hindering many countries from being able to export.
“In addition, it is crucial that we look at the shea value chain beyond farming and processing for butter. How can we in Africa begin to manufacture more finished shea products?”
According to her, WHO has been assisting Nigerians and other countries to improve on the export of shea products.
“When I first took office as WTO DG, I met with a group from a shea cooperative in Oyo State who participated in an event organised by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council.
“The WTO, International Trade Centre and NEPC had all worked together to build the capacity of the cooperative to produce good quality shea butter that met international safety and quality standards.
“This cooperative had once been prevented from exporting, but with the work done by all the agencies, they were able to receive the international safety certification that allows them to export to the United States, United Kingdom, Middle East and South Africa.
“The incomes of the women rose and even tripled. And many of them told me how they had been able to pay for their children’s university education and also invest in side businesses. This is the power of trade and how it can work for people,” the WTO boss stated.
She said “The cosmetics shea butter market is currently worth over $600m and it is expected to reach about $850m by the end of 2027. So we have to look at how African women can further benefit from this sector.”
Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Nonye Ayeni, “It may interest you to know that the following countries account for the largest producers of shea in the world, representing 60 per cent of global production. These countries are Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire,” she stated.
WTO is an international organisation that deals with the global rules of trade between nations, established in 1995, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
