The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) plays a key role in developing Nigeria's sheanut/butter industry through various initiatives. The NEPC provides training to sheanut processors on proper processing techniques to improve product quality. It also participates in the STDF Project 172, a World Trade Organization-funded program aimed at expanding sheanut/butter exports by addressing safety and quality issues. While Nigeria is the world's largest sheanut producer, it has not fully capitalized on export opportunities due to challenges like aflatoxin contamination and the lack of quality standards. The NEPC is working to empower women processors, promote best practices, and boost Nigeria's position in the international sheanut market.

1. ROLE OF NIGERIAN EXPORT PROMOTION
COUNCIL IN SHEANUT/BUTTER
DEVELOPMENT
DELIVERED
BY
MRS.OMOWUNMI OSIBO
DIRECTOR (PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT)
NIGERIAN EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL
AT THE 2013 GLOBAL SHEA ALLIANCE
CONFERENCE
VENUE:- THE SHERATON HOTELS AND
TOWERS , ABUJA.4TH-6TH
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2. Protocol
INTRODUCTION
• Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to make this
presentation on the Role of Nigerian Export Promotion
Council in the development of SHEANUTS. In order to
do justice to this paper, I believe i should also touch
on the effort carried out on shea through the STDF
Project 172, a WTO funded program on Shea and
Sesame in Nigeria
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3. • The chosen topic is very apt at this time because
of the giant stride the Council and indeed other
collaborating agencies have achieved through
the STDF172 project. At this type of forum,
Exporters, Potential ones and all relevant
stakeholders are aware of the huge opportunity
available in the shea value chain for economic
growth of the country
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4. NIGERIAN EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL
(NEPC)
VISION:
Make the non-oil export sector a significant
contributor to Nigeria’s GDP.
MISSION:
We facilitate opportunities for exporters &
promote sustainable economic
development.
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5. THE ROLE OF NEPC IS 4-PRONGED IN NATURE)
ACTIVITIES:
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6. CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
 To promote the development and diversification of
Nigerian’s export trade.
 To assist in promoting the development of export
related industries in Nigeria.
 To spearhead the creation of appropriate export
incentives.
 To actively articulate and promote the
implementation of export polices and programs of
the Nigerian Government
 Human Capital Development in the Non- Oil
Export Sector 6

7.  FACT FILE ON SHEANUT
 The shea tree grows naturally in the wild in the
dry Savannah belt of West Africa from Senegal
in the west to Sudan in the east, and onto the
foothills of the Ethiopian highlands.
 Shea nuts grows in about 20 countries in the
world, all of which are in Africa, Nigeria
inclusive.
 In recent years the shea tree has gained
importance as an economic crop because of the
heavy demand for its butter, both locally and
internationally. 7

8. Cont’d
• The nuts are shipped out of West Africa mainly from
ports in Dakar, Senegal, Lome, Togo and Ghana.
• Nigeria is the largest producer of sheanuts in the
world but have not been able to take economic
advantage of the huge export potentials the product
offers in view of the many uses that the product
could be put to.
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9. Sheanut Production in Nigeria
 The local shea market is dominated by
the women in Nigeria. There are men who
trade in nuts and work in processing but
women are the primary pickers,
processors and sellers of shea butter in
the local marketplace.
 The majority of shea butter consumption in
our country is in the butter form for
cooking, cosmetics and skin care,etc.
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10. SHEANUT PRODUCTION FROM WEST AFRICA
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11. 11

12. 12

13. SHEANUT PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA
(ESTIMATE)
Year Production (M/T)
• 2008 433,369
• 2009 441,560
• 2010 325,610
Source: FAO
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14. TOP SHEANUT EXPORTING COUNTRIES
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15. 15

16. 16

17. NIGERIA’S EXPORT OF SHEANUTS 2008 TO 2011
Net weight Value in Naira
2008
052 BARBADOS 20,300 3,514,773
208 DENMARK 4,000,000 133,226,016
528 NETHERLANDS 40,700 8,831,526
2009
356 INDIA 427,900 8,815,570
2010
1020 ANDORRA 113 45,786,550
204 BENIN 38 2,283,832
356 INDIA 320 20,224,000
840 UNITED STATES 1,000 3,925,721
Source National Bureau of Statistics
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18. Sheabutter:-
 Very little is packaged, labeled or certified
before sale and it is sold in small balls or
bowls in major markets throughout the
country.
 Currently, there are 21 shea producing
states in Nigeria.
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19. Map of Shea Producing States
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20. INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR SHEA
 The world’s biggest international markets
for shea butter are in Europe and North
America.
• it is used as a cocoa butter equivalent or
improver in chocolate and other
confectionaries, margarine, and in
cosmetic and personal care products.
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21. • Nigerian exporters indicated that the main problem
encountered with export of shea products is
aflatoxin content in the nut while in storage.
• Quality assurance for shea products to meet
importers’ requirement is a technical issue for which
Nigeria needs to develop expertise in order to
safeguard and increase market penetration.
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22. • There are also certain organizations
buying shea butter from individual
communities but standard quality is a
challenge.
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23. • Lack of quality control activities during the
post-harvest processing (particularly the
first three steps of traditional post-harvest
processing)
• It is important to note that the way the fresh shea
fruit is handled and processed into shea kernel
determines the quality of the kernel and the
quality of the kernels in turn determines the
quality of the shea butter.
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24. Cont’d
• Poor quality sheanut/butter accounts for
majority of reasons why sheabutter export
from Nigeria is low compared to its local
production volume.
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25. THE COUNCIL’S EFFORTS AT DEVELOPING AND
PROMOTING SHEA FOR EXPORT
• The Council had sponsored some Shea- butter
processors to the West African Trade Hub (WATT),
Accra; Ghana – a USAID sponsored trade network.
The training was meant to improve the quality of
Nigerian Shea- butter to ensure market access to the
large USA market.
• Also, in 2006, the Council engaged the services of a
foreign based Consultant called Whitaker Group to
source for market for Nigeria products including
Shea- butter in the USA and to source fund for 25
processing of same.

26. • In the area of capacity building, the Council in
conjunction with West African Trade Hub (WATH)
conducted a training programme for
producers/processors in Abuja.
In 2011
• The Council went a step further by engaging a GSA
consultant who trained over 600 women on proper
processing of sheanut into butter.
• The trainings involved practical demonstrations on every
step involved in the proper processing of sheanut/butter
• . It was carried out in 3 different location across the
country namely; (Ilua in Oyo State, Zuru in Kebbi State
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and kaiama in Kwara State

27. • Pictorials and manuals were also
produced to aid the training sessions.
• Another batch of processors have been
programmed for training this year in proper
processing of sheanuts. Focus is on train-
the –trainer in the processing.
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28. • The council has also been involved in a World
Trade Organization sponsored programme
(STDF 172) targeted at expanding Nigeria’s
export of sesame and Sheanut/Butter through
addressing sanitary and photo-sanitary issues in
the production and processing of these
products.
• The STDF Project 172 commenced in October
2010 with a dedicated website(www.sesame-
shea-stdf172.org.ng) . It is funded 65% by the
WTO and 35% by the NEPC. It has the
International Trade Center (ITC) as the 28
Supervising Agency

29. .
• The NEPC is the Implementing Agency, there is
also a Project Coordinator who is supported by
the International Consultant.
• There are about 14 public and private sector
organizations involved in the project
implementation.
• The project consist of 5 Components, each with
series of activities under each Component
spearheaded by a Lead Agency with Supporting
Agencies providing assistance.
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30. .
The project seeks to improve the quality of
Nigerian shea for export through improved quality
control along the value chain.
• It is scheduled to end tentatively in March, 2013
and has recorded enormous achievements in
implementation, principally the characterization of
the Nigerian sesame seed shea value chain and
extension physico-chemical and biological
analysis. Critical Control Points for intervention
vis-à-vis Good Processing Practices has been
conducted and identified.
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31. • Under the STDF 172 project, series of capacity
building programmes will be conducted for the
extension workers and women processors with
fabricated machines to aid proper processing of the
nuts at every stage of production.
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32. Cont’d
• The efforts of the council is in line with the
objectives of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), and the transformation
agenda of the Federal Government of
Nigeria.
• Specifically, the efforts of the council is
geared towards the following objectives:
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33. Objectives:-
• Equip the local sheanut/butter producers
with the right skills and tools to process
high quality sheanut/butter.
• To empower women, create wealth and for
poverty reduction
• Encourage the collection of sheanut as a
commercial venture
• Creation of employment and generation of
more income for rural dwellers across the
shea value chain.
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34. • Reduce rural-urban migration
• Opportunity to organize the local
producers into cooperative entities
• Act as a catalyst to develop the shea
industry in Nigeria
• Serve as a means of developing
infrastructural facilities in the rural areas.
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35. Challenges in the Shea sector
Restricted access to credit
Infrastructural deficiency and weak logistics to
support value addition in the supply chain.
Shea exports is dominated by the nuts with its
limitations.
External barriers ( Non-tariff barriers)
Inadequate export-oriented sheabutter
manufacturing company and low productive
capacity.
Unrecorded export trade, especially butter ( 35

36. • Poor standardisation of products (quality,
labelling, packaging)
• High production costs
• Lack of vital skills and technology
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37. Strategy for Nigeria sheanut/butter growth and
development
 Shift from Primary resource dependent to value Addition in
the long term.
 Maintain quality standard
 Focus more on the quality of sheanuts
 Adopt Good Processing Practices
 Increased production.
 Provide easy access to Agric credit.
 Attract Investors.
 Remain competitive.
 Provide market information system (local and International).
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 Export formally.

38. Capacity Building
Way Forward
Enhancing Shea processors with request knowledge
Providing Special Skill for shea exporters and Potential ones.
Creating Export Awareness.
Simplify Export Procedures and Documentations
Imbibe e Commerce
Enhance Synergy amongst relevant stakeholders
Best approach to quality assurance through the creation of
appropriate quality infrastructure.
Product adaptation to meet the requirements of International
Enlightenment campaign on non- felling of sheanuts tree for (coal,
mortars, etc)
Research work on early maturing sheanut trees (graft & tissue
manipulation). This is necessary to continuously provide the raw
materials
Getting certification for organic sheanut/butter
Step up campaign for increased use locally for its use in cosmetics and
for its medicinal use.
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39. Conclusion
 Ladies and Gentlemen, the shea sector if fully
developed, has the high potential of poverty
reduction in the rural areas and also be a major
revenue earner for the country.
 With Nigeria having the largest concentration of
sheanuts in the world, the nation should exploit this
opportunity. There is the need for partnership
between the Government and the private sector to
engage in production, processing and marketing of
shea.
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40. THANK YOU
Local Women
Processors in Bosso,
Niger State.
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41. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLS
VISIT OUR WEBSITE.
www.nepc.gov.ng ,
www.sesame-shea-stdf172.org.ng or
reach us at enquiries@nepc.gov.ng
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42. www.nepc.gov.ng
info@nepc.gov.ng
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