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LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) \u2014 Nigeria’s government has banned the export of raw shea nuts, an essential raw material in many cosmetic products, in a bid to grow the country into a global supplier of refined shea butter and other skincare ingredients.<\/p>\n
The immediate ban on the crop will be in place for six months and then reviewed, Vice President Kashim Shettima said.<\/p>\n
Nigeria follows a growing list of other West African countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Ivory Coast and Ghana, that have banned or restricted export of the crop in the past two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ban will transform Nigeria from an exporter of raw shea nut to a global supplier of refined shea butter, oil, and other derivatives,\u201d Shettima said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He added that the decision was not \u201can anti-trade policy but a pro-value addition policy designed to secure raw materials for our processing factories” and boost income and jobs for rural workers.<\/p>\n
Raw shea nut is pulverized and processed to produce shea butter, a key ingredient for manufacturing products like lotion, shampoos, conditioners and moisturizers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is one of the most important bases for skincare, especially now that a lot of people are tilting toward nontoxic skincare,\u201d said Zainab Bashir, an Abuja-based dermatologist.<\/p>\n
While Nigeria accounts for 40% of the world\u2019s supply of the crop, it contributes to just 1% of the $6.5-billion global market share in shea products, according to the vice president.<\/p>\n
The measure came weeks after the northern Niger state opened a shea butter processing plant that officials described as one of Africa\u2019s largest.<\/p>\n
Authorities said that if the export ban remains in force, it is expected to generate $300 million in the short term and $3 billion by 2027.<\/p>\n
Experts have argued that such efforts must come with more investment to grow domestic industries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ban seems to suggest that the government has identified a supply-gap issue, but an export ban does little actually to lock in current in-country production solely for Nigerian processors,\u201d Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based risk advisory firm, told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n
The move appeared to contradict the long-standing trade policy of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who has positioned the country as a free-market economy by removing a series of subsidies on essential commodities such as fuel and electricity. Tinubu has also floated the country’s currency and reversed a ban on the import of dozens of items by the former government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n