Ghana May Target China as New Market for Shea Nuts, Development Group Says
Ghana, the world second-largest cocoa producer, may target China as a new market for exports of shea nuts as the West African nation seeks to boost the industry, according to the Integrated Social Development Centre.
Ghana’s annual exports of about 60,000 metric tons of the nuts that are used in foods and cosmetics could increase to 130,000 tons with access to Chinese buyers, said the Accra-based non-government organization, which conducted research into the shea-nut sector that was funded by U.K.-based advocacy group Oxfam International.
The nuts are currently sold to Europe, the U.S. and Japan and earn about $30 million for Ghana each year, said Yakubu Zakaria director of programs at Isodec, as the group is known.
“China alone can absorb all our produce and we can make about $70 million,” Zakaria said in an interview Aug. 5.
Shea trees, which produce the nuts, grow across the Sahelien regions of Africa, including in northern Ghana. Global exports of shea nuts and butter were worth $120 million in 2010, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Ghana plans to establish a development board for shea that will set prices farmers will be paid for their crop and conduct research, Vice President John Mahama said April 6.
“When the board is in place, we will organize trade shows and fairs in Beijing and also in Ghana, where we will invite Chinese investors and businesses,” Zakaria said.
The Ghana Cocoa Board, which in currently in charge of the shea industry, is already targeting China for exports of the chocolate ingredient, said Osei Owusu, director of research at the Accra-based agency.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.
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