Merin Kind's Shea Butter Series, Part 1 of 4
Quick Answer
West African nations produce the vast majority of the world's shea butter but historically capture only a small fraction of its retail value, because raw, unprocessed shea nuts are exported cheaply while the profitable step — refining nuts into finished butter — has traditionally happened elsewhere. Nigeria, for example, produces close to 40% of global shea supply but captures only about 1% of the $6.5 billion global shea market. In 2026, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Ghana are enacting or extending bans on raw shea nut exports specifically to change this.
A $6.5 billion industry, and a 1% share
Nigeria alone produces somewhere between 350,000 and 500,000 tons of shea a year — close to 40% of the entire world's supply. By volume, no country comes close. But here's the number that should stop you: despite that dominance, Nigeria captures only about 1% of the global shea market's value, even though that market is worth an estimated $6.5 billion.
That gap isn't a fluke. It's the direct result of what gets exported. Raw, unprocessed shea nuts sell for a fraction of what finished, refined shea butter commands — often 10 to 20 times less. For decades, the default export model has been: ship the raw nut out, let refineries elsewhere turn it into the butter and derivatives that actually show up on store shelves and in ingredient lists. The processing — and the profit that comes with it — has largely happened outside the countries where shea trees grow.
And shea trees only grow in one place on Earth: the savanna belt stretching across West and Central Africa. This is not a crop that can be relocated to wherever labor is cheapest or processing is most efficient. It is wild-harvested, by hand, almost exclusively by women, in the exact communities that have historically seen the smallest share of its value.
The policy shift no one outside the industry is talking about
That's starting to change, and 2026 is turning out to be a pivotal year.
Nigeria extended its ban on raw shea nut exports through February 2027, now requiring all shea exports to move through the Nigeria Commodity Exchange — closing loopholes that previously let raw nuts leave the country without triggering local processing requirements. Burkina Faso enacted a similar export ban earlier. Ghana, one of the other major producing nations, has signaled it will follow with its own restrictions in 2026.
The logic behind these policies is straightforward: if the raw material can't leave without being processed first, the processing infrastructure — and the jobs, equity, and revenue that come with it — has to be built locally instead of imported. It's a deliberate attempt to move West African nations from the bottom of the value chain toward the top of it.
Whether these bans succeed at reshaping the industry long-term is still an open question. Building refining capacity takes capital, equipment, and time, and there's real risk that in the short term, they simply reduce income for the women who depend on nut sales while infrastructure catches up. But the direction is clear, and it says something important: shea-producing nations are no longer content to be a raw material source for someone else's finished product.
Where Merin Kind fits into this story
This is the part of the shea supply chain most brands never mention, because it's easier to sell a story about "ancient tradition" and "natural glow" than to talk about trade policy and who actually gets paid. But we think it matters — because how shea butter gets from tree to jar determines who benefits from every purchase.
Merin Kind sources its shea butter directly from a women's cooperative in Ibadan, Nigeria — the same country producing nearly 40% of the world's shea supply, and the same country now restructuring its export policy to keep more processing, and more value, on the ground. Working directly with the cooperative means the women harvesting and processing the shea nuts are the ones we're actually paying, not a chain of intermediaries between us and them.
You can see and feel the result of that sourcing in our whipped shea butter collection — small-batch, unrefined, and made from butter that started its journey with the women who harvested it.
Why this matters when you're buying shea butter
Understanding the economics behind shea butter changes how you shop for it. A few questions worth asking about any shea butter brand:
- Is it refined or unrefined, and where was that refining done? Refining that happens locally, closer to harvest, keeps more value in the originating community.
- Does the brand name its sourcing region or cooperative? Vague "sourced from Africa" language is often a sign the brand doesn't know — or isn't sharing — who actually made the product.
- Is the price low enough that it couldn't possibly reflect fair payment up the chain? Given how thin margins already are for shea collectors and processors, extremely cheap "pure" shea butter is worth a second look.
The shea industry is in the middle of renegotiating who it works for. We think that's worth understanding — not just as background, but as part of what you're actually paying for when you choose a jar of shea butter. Explore the results of that sourcing model in our whipped shea butter collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does West Africa produce most of the world's shea butter but earn so little from it?
Because most exports historically have been raw, unprocessed shea nuts rather than finished shea butter. Refined shea butter sells for 10–20 times more than raw nuts, and that refining has traditionally happened outside the producing countries.
Which countries are banning raw shea nut exports in 2026?
Nigeria and Burkina Faso currently restrict raw shea nut exports, and Ghana has signaled plans to introduce similar restrictions in 2026, all aimed at keeping more processing and value inside the producing country.
Where does Merin Kind source its shea butter?
From a women's cooperative in Ibadan, Nigeria, purchased directly rather than through layers of intermediaries.
What percentage of the global shea market does Nigeria capture?
Despite producing close to 40% of the world's shea supply, Nigeria captures only about 1% of the global shea market's $6.5 billion value — a gap driven largely by raw nut exports rather than finished-product sales.
Sources referenced: allAfrica, Tridge Market Overview, Mordor Intelligence, and reporting on the Global Shea Alliance and West African export policy, 2026.
