Ghana’s government has announced plans to introduce phased restrictions on the export of raw shea nuts as part of a broader strategy to retain more value from the country’s share of the 6.4 billion dollar global shea industry, with the World Shea Expo 2026 launched in Wa on Wednesday as the centrepiece of that push.
The Director of Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness (PIAA), Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor, announced that the phased restriction on raw shea nut exports would force more processing activity to take place within Ghana, and said the government’s 24-Hour Economy policy would further support the sector by removing time constraints on processing operations and reducing post-harvest losses.
The decision signals a deliberate shift from decades of commodity-led trade, during which Ghana supplied raw shea nuts to international buyers who captured the higher-value processing margin abroad.
The expo, themed “From Local Commodity to Global Brand: Accelerating Women and Youth-Led Value Addition in Shea,” is being organised by Savannah Golden Tree Limited in partnership with PIAA, with support from the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Ghana EXIM Bank, the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) and the Ghana Enterprises Agency. The main event is scheduled for Tamale from August 25 to 27, focusing on trade, investment, innovation and training to strengthen the industry.
Board Chairman of GEPA and Member of Parliament for Wa East, Dr. Godfred Seidu Jasaw, used the Wa launch to warn that Ghana’s processing ambitions could collapse without stronger environmental protection for the shea tree itself.
“The shea tree is a climate-resilient economic lifeline for Northern Ghana,” Dr. Jasaw stated, adding that processing targets and government investments would mean nothing if the raw material source were not jealously protected.
GEPA Deputy Chief Executive Officer Ambrose Edwin Nsarkoh reiterated the authority’s commitment to supporting local processors in accessing international markets, noting that Ghana holds a significant share of the global shea industry.
The expo is projected to attract over 8,000 participants from across the world, including women cooperatives, processors, exporters, policymakers, investors, development partners and international buyers.
Upper West Regional Minister Charles Lwanga Puozuing reaffirmed the region’s readiness to host the broader global engagement, describing the shea sector as a critical economic pillar that sustains livelihoods across northern Ghana, particularly for women involved in harvesting and processing. Women shea pickers at the launch also received personal protective equipment (PPE), including Wellington boots and hand gloves, to improve safety and productivity as the shea picking season begins.
The government’s move to restrict raw nut exports puts Ghana in direct alignment with a growing shift across commodity-producing nations toward retaining industrial value at home rather than exporting it, a strategy increasingly backed by international development partners as Africa seeks to move up global supply chains.
