Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has welcomed the recent announcement by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) on the ban on the exportation of raw shea nuts.
The decision represents a major step toward enhancing value addition in the country’s agro-industrial sector, promoting local processing, and creating sustainable employment opportunities.
Speaking on behalf of NACCIMA, Engr. Jani Ibrahim, mni, OON, National President, commended the FGN for taking a bold policy stance aligned with Nigeria’s broader economic diversification and industrialization objectives.
According to him, this ban is a clear signal that Nigeria is committed to building domestic processing capacity, generating higher revenue from value-added products, and enhancing the global competitiveness of our shea-based industries.
NACCIMA emphasized that the success of this policy depends on strategic support for local processors and farmers.
The Association encouraged the FGN, through the Bank of Industry (BOI), to provide funding, concessional loans, and technical assistance to strengthen the shea value chain, expand processing capacity, and incentivize farmers.
He said this approach aligns with NACCIMA’s programme of one billion economic trees planting campaign and ongoing advocacy to plant 50 million Shea trees, which will increase shea nut production, ensure sustainable supply, and position Nigeria as a global leader in the shea industry for the foreseeable future. States in the Shea belt are hereby encouraged to key into the tree planting campaign.
The Association noted that with coordinated public-private sector collaboration, Nigeria can not only meet domestic demand for processed shea products but also increase export revenues from finished goods, stimulate rural economies, and create thousands of jobs in agro-processing, logistics, and trade.
NACCIMA pledged to continue supporting its private sector members in scaling up local shea nut processing, promoting entrepreneurship, and ensuring that the sector contributes significantly to national wealth creation.
