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  • Where do Shea nuts come from?
  • Production of shea nuts in some selected countries from 2001-2012 (Source: FAOSTAT, 2013). The shea tree is a multipurpose tree crop indigenous to Sub Saharan African. The tree is highly cherished for the oil that is extracted from its kernels and used nationally and internationally in cosmetics, pharmaceutics and in chocolate formulations.
  • How many shea nut trees are there in Africa?
  • Africa produces about 1,760,000 tons of raw shea nuts annually from its wild trees (Mohammed et al., 2013). In Ghana, there are estimated 94 million shea nut trees which were projected to produce at least 60,000 metric tonnes of shea nuts per annum for the production of all shea butter processed locally (Ofosu, 2009).
  • How is shea butter extracted in Ghana?
  • Extraction of shea butter is a major income generating activity in Ghana, particularly in the Northern Regions. It is estimated that about 80% of the shea butter produced in Ghana is processed by women using traditional aqueous extraction method. Commercial extraction using continuous screw press accounts for about 20% of production.
  • What are shea nuts used for?
  • Shea nuts are usually processed and used for Shea butter extraction which have wide applications in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries . It is used as cocoa butter equivalent (CBE) and enhancer in chocolate manufacturing, providing greater stability and extended shelf life [6,9]. ... ...
  • How are shea nuts stored in Burkina Faso?
  • ... Therefore, the nuts are stored for later processing in dry areas (tiny houses constructed as storage) after the women have collected them from the field. Annual shea kernel production in Burkina Faso ranges from 70,000 to 300,000 tons [94, 180]. ...
  • Which country produces the most shea nut?
  • ... of the po- tentials of shea nut indicate that major producing countries are found in West Africa. Available data from FAOSTAT (2013), shows that Nigeria has the highest potential of shea nut pro- duction.