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An immediate six-month ban on the export of raw shea nuts, the key ingredient needed to make shea butter, popular for its moisturising and anti-inflammatory purposes, was ordered by Nigerian president Bola Ahmed on Tuesday.
The ban aims to transform Nigeria from a leading raw producer of shea nuts into a global exporter of refined shea butter and oils. The policy aims to generate some $300 million annually, with a projected tenfold increase by 2027.
Shea nuts are vital to the beauty industry — the butter extracted from the nut is widely used in haircare products, body lotions, and lip balms globally as a conditioning and moisturising agent. While Nigeria is responsible for nearly 40 percent of shea nut production worldwide, it captures only about 1 percent of the $6.5 billion shea butter market.
The shea tree can be found across Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, and is most commonly harvested by women who process and extract shea butter from the tree’s nuts. The government emphasised that the ban is intended to empower rural women, as well as strengthen the Nigerian economy and the country’s world trade position.
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