Nigeria’s Shea Export Ban Leaves Workers Struggling to Survive

Nigeria’s six-month ban on raw shea nut exports, aimed at boosting local processing, has instead caused prices to collapse and incomes to halve, leaving thousands of women harvesters in hardship without safety nets.

Nigeria’s recent decision to impose a sudden six-month ban on the export of raw shea nuts, intended to encourage local processing and capture a greater share of the $6.5 billion global industry, has triggered severe hardship for thousands of women in Niger State and beyond. The policy, which came into effect abruptly, has led to a collapse in nut prices, leaving harvesters struggling to sell their produce and seeing their incomes cut by half.

Government officials insist that the measure is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s value chain and ensure that women, who make up the backbone of the shea nut industry, reap greater benefits. For decades, these women have endured exploitation at the hands of middlemen and foreign buyers, earning little despite the global demand for shea butter in cosmetics, food, and pharmaceuticals. Officials argue that by prioritising local processing, Nigeria can boost exports of higher-value shea products, create jobs, and retain more revenue within the country.

Yet for many harvesters, the promise of future gains offers little comfort against the immediate reality of hunger and financial distress. In rural Niger State, women who rely on shea nut sales to feed their families and send their children to school have been left with warehouses of unsold produce. Local traders say prices have plummeted by more than half, and with few functioning processing plants in place, the nuts are at risk of rotting before they can be used.

Civil society groups and industry experts have criticised the government for failing to implement safety nets or transitional support before enforcing the ban. Some argue that without immediate investment in processing capacity and access to credit, the policy risks undermining the very women it was meant to empower.

“The intention may be good, but the timing is devastating,” said one cooperative leader in Minna. “We cannot eat promises. Women are watching their livelihoods disappear.”

The shea nut industry has long been seen as a potential driver of inclusive growth in Nigeria, particularly in the north, where climate change and insecurity have battered farming communities. Advocates say that with proper planning, investment, and fair trade structures, the sector could lift millions out of poverty.

However, as the ban continues, many women fear they may not survive long enough to see its benefits. For them, reform without immediate support is proving to be as bitter as the nut itself—an emblem of policies that neglect the fragile realities of daily survival.