Business Advisory From The Archives
‘There is growing investment in processing facilities in Nigeria. This is expected to have an effect on the trade dynamics of shea products in West Africa. There is a general trend of moving from export of raw materials to processing in most West African countries. It is expected that more processing will take place in Africa in the near future. ‘
The European Market Potential For Shea Butter
This is a Business Advisory stuff – a study carried out on behalf of CBI by Ecovia Intelligence. CBI is the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries.
Its mission is to support the transition towards inclusive and sustainable economies. CBI strengthens the social, economic and environmental sustainability of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. It does this by connecting SMEs to European and regional markets.
This story was published on these pages in September 2023 is republished here today to complement the Kwara State shea butter factory story of today.
Product description
Shea butter is a vegetable fat extracted from the sun-dried kernels of the shea tree Vitellaria paradoxa. The shea tree grows in the so-called shea belt, which includes roughly 21 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Guinea. The largest shea butter-producing countries are Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda (Northern part).
Vitellaria paradoxa grows mainly in Western Africa, while Vitellaria Nilotica (a sub-species of Vitellaria paradoxa) is native to East African countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Sudan. Both trees produce slightly different shea butter in terms of consistency, texture and nutrient content. The shea butter form Western Africa is denser, while the shea butter from East Africa (nilotica shea butter) is more liquid.
Other differences between the shea butter from West and East Africa are as follows:
Western African Shea Butter East African Shea Butter
Higher concentration of vitamin A
– More yellow in colour
Higher melting point
– Lower melting point
Lower concentration of oleic acid – Higher concentration of oleic acid
Harder in consistency
– Soft and creamy texture
Higher concentration of sterol
East African shea butter is considered a more luxurious product. East African shea butter spreads more easily and is more suitable for sensitive skin, ageing skin, bruised skin, burns, wounds, dry peeling skin and baby skin. West African shea butter is used for scars, blemishes, wrinkles and stretch marks because of its high content of vitamin A. East African Shea Butter is also scarcer because of a limited supply.
According to the Global Shea Alliance, the majority (85%) of processed shea butter goes to the food industry. The rest is used in personal care products; some of its main applications are:
hair treatment products for damaged and dry hair;
anti-ageing and anti-wrinkle creams;
face- and body-moisturizing creams;
aftersun products and skin treatment after sunburn;
stretch mark prevention products during pregnancy;
hair treatment for dry scalp;
shaving and aftershave creams to reduce skin irritation;
creams to ease muscle fatigue and pain;
treatment products for insect bites and stings;
baby care products against diaper rash.
Cosmetics companies in Europe either use shea butter as a moisturizing body butter in their products, or use shea-based ingredients obtained from stearin or olein. Many companies use shea butter because of its emollient properties, particularly its ability to soften the skin along with treating dry skin areas. The cosmetics sector is also less constrained by costs than the food sector .
Shea butter can be traded as a nut or as oil with these HS codes: 151590 for oil and 1207.92 for nuts. HS code 151590 refers to other fixed vegetable fats and oils (including jojoba oil) and their fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified. HS code 120792 refers to shea nuts, but no trade is recorded under this HS code.
Familiarize yourself with the beneficial properties of shea butter and how the cosmetics industry makes use of them. For example, shea butter’s emollient properties are among its major selling points in the European market.
What makes Europe an interesting market for shea butter?
The demand for shea butter in the European cosmetics market is growing. Shea butter is used mainly in skincare and haircare products because of its properties. This growth is driven by rising consumer awareness of shea butter and the consumer demand for natural cosmetics. Shea butter has unique properties and its widening availability makes it a favourite choice of cosmetic companies.
A publication from the African Journal of Biochemistry Research in 2018 stated that Africa produces around 1,760,600 tonnes of raw shea nuts a year. However, more than half is used in domestic applications. Tridge states that Nigeria and Mali are the largest producers of shea kernels in Africa. In 2019, Nigeria accounted for more than 39 percent and Mali accounted for almost 31 percent of global shea nuts production. The majority of shea butter produced in Nigeria is for domestic consumption. There is also undocumented trade of shea nuts across the country’s borders with Benin, Togo and Ghana.
However, there is growing investment in processing facilities in Nigeria. This is expected to have an effect on the trade dynamics of shea products in West Africa. There is a general trend of moving from export of raw materials to processing in most West African countries. It is expected that more processing will take place in Africa in the near future.
According to the Global Shea Alliance, it is estimated that around 300,000 metric tonnes of shea was imported into Europe in 2020. In Ghana, the largest exporter of unrefined shea butter, there are around 94 million shea trees in the country, which produce around 60,000 tonnes of shea nuts a year. Ghana has the most developed shea processing sector.
‘The majority of shea butter produced in Nigeria is for domestic consumption. There is also undocumented trade of shea nuts across the country’s borders with Benin, Togo and Ghana. ‘
Majority of shea imports to Europe are kernels. Shea nuts are processed in Europe by some of the leading vegetable oils processors, such as Bunge Loders Croklaan, Fuji Oil Europe and AAK. Some processing is also done in Africa; shea butter, as well as shea derivatives, such as shea olein and stearin, are exported to Europe.
