Description

Any nation that requires economic development must look inwards to identify areas where it has comparative advantage over other nations and seek to develop the identified areas.

Apart from hydrocarbon, Nigeria has comparative in the Agricultural sector where a variety of products are produced due to the favorable climatic condition ,good soil condition and the fact that over 70% of the entire land mass of the country is arable.

Nigeria has comparative advantage in the production and export of Shea nut in Africa over her counterparts due to the large arable land available for production and the conducive climatic condition.

Presently Nigeria is the leading exporter of Shea nuts and butter in the world with a total trade value estimated at $400,000.

Though a leading Shea nut and butter exporter in the world, Nigeria is yet to take advantage of the vast opportunity that exists in the export and value addition of Shea nut and butter.

Incentives are offered for better quality nuts through premium that are paid to exporters and since most of the Shea tree in Nigeria are in bushes and forest which is not subjected to herbicides and fertilizers, Nigeria’s Shea is one of the best in the world and qualify for organic certification.

The return on investment on the export of Shea nut is estimated between 10%- 15% while for Shea butter it is between 15%-25%.