The government is advancing the shea industry as part of its 24-hour economy agenda, casting it as a future $640 million export sector.
At the World Shea Expo in Tamale, Dr. Peter Boamah Otokunor, Director of Presidential Initiatives on Agriculture and Agribusiness, set out an ambitious plan: to grow annual production from the current 130,000–150,000 metric tonnes, worth about $118 million, to 400,000 tonnes within a few years.
The reopening of the Buipe Shea Factory, dormant for several years but now refurbished with capacity to process 60,000 tonnes annually, is being held up as proof of this renewed commitment.
The plant could eventually triple its output under round-the-clock operations, creating thousands of jobs and anchoring Ghana’s push to add more value locally.
Policy is also shifting to favour processing over raw trade. Earlier this year, government announced plans to phase out the export of raw shea nuts by 2026[1]. The urgency of this move is underscored by trade data.
The 2024 Non-Traditional Exports report showed raw shea exports almost doubling up 93.7 percent from $42.3 million in 2023 to $82.1 million in 2024, making shea the country’s second-largest agricultural product export.
By contrast, exports of shea oil grew more modestly, at 28.9 percent over the same period. These figures suggest that the market still rewards raw trade more than processing, and unless that incentive structure is corrected, policy will struggle to compete with price signals.
Despite this, the industry’s risks are hard to ignore. The most immediate is the availability of raw materials. Factories like The PBC Shea Factory in Buipe is already warning of shortages of raw materials being a challenge. Environmental degradation is also steadily undermining the resource base, with shea trees cut for charcoal and bushfires destroying entire stretches of land.
Climate change adds another layer of fragility: rising temperatures and erratic rainfall are not only lowering yields but also causing some trees to die prematurely, reducing long-term supply. At the farm level, price volatility has left small-scale producers vulnerable, as fluctuating global demand can quickly wipe out incomes. Overlaying all of this is the persistent export of raw nuts, which drains local processors of the inputs they need to compete.
If the risks are significant, so too are the potential solutions. The first is investment in climate-resilient shea varieties that can withstand harsher weather patterns and safeguard production over the long term. Equally critical is enforcing the planned ban on raw exports so that local processors have access to steady inputs. This must be accompanied by market reforms that make domestic sales more attractive than smuggling nuts abroad.
Beyond supply and incentives, logistics and infrastructure need strengthening, from storage facilities to reliable transport networks, to reduce losses and improve efficiency along the value chain.
The shea sector remains one of Ghana’s most promising opportunities for rural development, women’s empowerment, and industrialization. But to move from promise to performance, government and stakeholders must tackle these vulnerabilities head-on.
Credit- IMANI’s Criticality Analysis of Governance and Economic Issues September 1–6, 2025
