Ghana’s Shea Industry Shows Smarter Path as Nigeria’s Export Ban Triggers Price Crash

Ghana’s shea industry is drawing renewed attention as regional policy shifts expose the pitfalls of heavy-handed export bans. While Nigeria’s recent six-month suspension of raw shea nut exports triggered a 33 percent price plunge, Ghana has charted a different path that experts say could secure better long-term gains for farmers and processors.

Mr. Senyo Kpelly, founder of Eco Restore Ltd., argues that Ghana’s regulatory approach offers lessons for the region. Unlike Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire, which have all imposed restrictions to force local processing, Ghana has avoided outright bans. 

Instead, through the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), the country enforces a minimum farmgate price of GH¢9.01 per kilogram, linked to strict quality standards. 

This compares favorably with the GH¢6 per kilogram paid in neighboring countries with export bans. The result, Mr. Kpelly notes, is that “it’s only in Ghana that shea farmers are smiling.”

But challenges remain. Ghanaian processors face some of the highest borrowing costs in the world, with interest rates hovering between 25 and 30 percent compared to the 3 to 5 percent loans available to international competitors. 

This financial squeeze prevents processors from stockpiling nuts, upgrading equipment, or running year-round operations. The lack of affordable capital, according to Mr. Kpelly, is the biggest barrier preventing the industry from scaling up.

Technology and standards also pose hurdles. Meeting the requirements of global buyers demands investments in moisture meters, mechanized crushing, improved refining, and farmer training. 

Small but growing firms such as Asheba Enterprise, which works with 600 women in Northern Ghana, demonstrate the potential of combining innovation with entrepreneurship. Still, much of the sector remains trapped in low-tech production methods that limit competitiveness.

The most critical gap, however, lies in value addition. While Ghana exports large volumes of raw nuts and semi-processed butter, the most lucrative gains are captured abroad in finished products. 

Shea is widely used in cosmetics, food, nutraceuticals, and industrial applications, yet Ghana has not positioned itself as a global brand leader. 

Companies like Hanahana Beauty and Shea Yeleen, both rooted in Ghana, are proof that value-added shea products can command international markets, but they remain exceptions rather than the norm.

However, it is warned that, relying solely on raw or semi-processed exports risks locking Ghana into a low-value role in the global shea economy. 

To change this trajectory, Mr. Kpelly emphasizes the need for three urgent interventions: affordable financing, stronger science and technology adoption, and deliberate marketing strategies to promote Ghanaian shea-based consumer products.

The stakes are high. Nigeria produces about 500,000 tons of shea annually and accounts for nearly 40 percent of global supply. Yet despite this dominance, it captures less than 1 percent of the $6.5 billion global shea market. 

The Nigerian government insists its ban will secure supply for local processors and create jobs, but critics point out that such policies shrink markets, depress farmer incomes, and discourage investment. 

In contrast, Ghana’s balanced strategy of regulated pricing and controlled exports allows market forces to function while protecting farmers.

For Ghana, the broader implications go beyond shea. The sector is often described as “women’s gold” because 95 percent of pickers are women. 

A stronger shea industry would therefore have a direct impact on rural livelihoods, women’s economic empowerment, and foreign exchange earnings. By building competitive processing and branding capacity, Ghana could turn shea into a signature global product, much like cocoa once was.

Mr. Kpelly added that if Ghana sustains its current path while addressing financing and technology gaps, the shea sector could emerge as both a symbol of industrial transformation and a new frontier of inclusive growth.

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