The Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has warmly welcomed the Federal Government of Nigeria’s recent ban on the exportation of raw shea nuts. The policy move is being hailed as a transformative step to deepen value addition within the agro-industrial sector, stimulate local processing, and promote sustainable job creation across Nigerian communities.
Speaking on behalf of NACCIMA, Engr. Jani Ibrahim, mni, OON, National President, praised the government’s commitment to economic diversification and industrialization. He stated, “This ban signals Nigeria’s resolve to build domestic processing capacity, generate higher revenue from value-added shea products, and position our shea-based industries competitively on the global stage.”
NACCIMA highlighted the importance of accompanying the export ban with robust support mechanisms for local processors and farmers. The association urged the Federal Government, particularly the Bank of Industry (BOI), to provide funding, concessional loans, and technical assistance geared towards strengthening the shea value chain, expanding processing infrastructure, and incentivizing production.
This push aligns with NACCIMA’s ongoing economic tree-planting campaign, which aims to plant one billion trees nationwide, including 50 million shea trees specifically. The initiative is expected to boost shea nut supply considerably, ensuring Nigeria’s long-term leadership in the global shea industry. States situated within the shea belt have been called upon to actively participate and promote the tree-planting drive.
Further highlighting the need for collaboration, NACCIMA emphasized that coordinated efforts between the public and private sectors can enable Nigeria not only to meet the domestic demand for processed shea products but also to increase exports of finished goods. This would stimulate rural economies and create thousands of jobs in agro-processing, logistics, and trade sectors.
In closing, NACCIMA reaffirmed its commitment to supporting private sector members in scaling up shea nut processing, fostering entrepreneurship, and contributing significantly to national wealth creation, a key objective on the path to realizing Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy target by 2030.