Nigeria has launched a bold push to transform from a raw shea exporter into a global industrial powerhouse in the lucrative shea market.
At the Shea 2026 Conference in Accra, trade officials made it clear. Nigeria will no longer export value it will create it.
The country currently supplies about 40% of the world’s shea nuts, yet earns only a fraction of the industry’s full value. That gap has now triggered a strategic shift toward local processing and large scale agro-industrialization.
Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, the government aims to build processing capacity, strengthen supply chains, and attract investment into the shea value chain.
Officials say this move will unlock thousands of jobs, boost export earnings, and position Nigeria as a dominant force not just in production but in finished shea products.
With global demand for shea butter rising across cosmetics, food, and pharmaceuticals, Nigeria now wants a bigger slice of a multi billion dollar market it already leads in raw supply.
