A Nigerian official on Wednesday said the country’s goal is to consolidate the shea sector’s prospects, potential and opportunities for export growth.
Speaking at the official inauguration of the Shea Export Development Program (2022-2025) in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, Ezra Yakusak, the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), said the project will focus on critical stakeholders and the intervention will contribute to making a paradigm shift from the export of raw unprocessed shea nuts to higher value-added shea products.
Yakusak said the inauguration of the shea project was in line with the government’s diversification agenda for non-oil export development, noting that Nigeria’s shea products visibly demonstrate a plethora of exotic diversified ranges, from good-grade healthy products to an aura of premium pharmaceutical skin care oils and lip balm.
“The aspiration is to uniquely position shea products in the enormous global market which is driven by important factors such as rising consumer awareness and increasing demand for natural and organic cosmetics without preservatives and chemicals,” Yakusak said.
He said the council, in line with its mandate, had been supporting the development of the shea industry in Nigeria from farm gate to internationalization. Enditem
