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The Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon. Alan K. Kyerematen, has stated that Government has embarked on a comprehensive program to support the promotion of Made-in-Ghana Shea products and brands, including the provision of incentive packages and the participation of local companies in International Trade Shows and Fairs.

Companies such as Solution Oasis, R&R Luxury, MGL Naturals, Maya Naturals, TAMA Cosmetics have benefitted from similar support from the Ministry. The vision is to make Ghana the Shea manufacturing hub of Africa.

He added that, the Shea nut industry has been an integral part of the life and culture of a significant number of the people, and has served as the economic backbone of rural economies in Ghana and other West African countries, wherever it is found.

According to him, Shea, as a potent raw material product integrated into very sophisticated global production and supply chains, has tremendous power to propel rural economies and transform the lives of millions of people in our sub region.

The Minister made known that, according to Ghana Cocoa Board, there are over 600,000 women in Ghana’s Shea nut production belt, traditionally depend on nut collection and processing for a living.

Mr. Alan K. Kyeremate, stressed that within the context of Ghana’s current industrial transformation and Job creation agenda, the Government is working closely with industry players to improve the incentive and regulatory framework for industrial Shea Production, to attract the long-term investment inflows required to fully develop the entire value chain and modernize the processing Shea.

He added that Ghana currently has 5 processing factories with over 150,000 metric tons of installed capacity. There are also 3 fractionation plants as well as the only Shea butter refinery plant in Africa.

To him, Government in collaboration with the African Development Bank and the Rural Enterprise program will be establishing four (4) new, modern processing facilities under the One District One Factory Initiative in the northern part of Ghana. These facilities will be owned and managed by organized youth groups as part of the Enable youth program.

Hon. Alan K. Kyerematen, made this observation at the opening ceremony of the 2019 international Shea Conference held at La palm Beach Hotel in Accra.

The 12th Annual International Conference on Shea brings together all business associates and shea interest groups around the world to share latest information. It was held in Accra from 11th to 13 the March 2019.

This year’s event, on the theme ‘Unveiling the Value of Shea’, will offer opportunities for showcasing recent products and technologies in the shea and create the platform to network and connect stakeholders in the shea value chain.

It is being hosted and jointly organized by the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) and Shea Network Ghana (SNG) with support from the EXIM Bank Ghana.

The annual exports of shea from the country in 2016 stood at 59,500 metric tonnes, which was equivalent to US$17 million direct income for women shea collectors and eight million dollars for their communities.

Over 28,000 women were trained in shea processing while about 600,000 were engaged in the shea value chain to earn incomes.

The conference also brought together the most important key players of the Global Shea Family to review progress and chart new pathways to promote sustainability, quality practices and standards, and coordinate support for Shea in the food and cosmetics sectors.