Shea nuts grow on the shea tree ( Vitellaria paradoxa ), which grows naturally across the West African savanna, a region marked by long, dry winters and a short rainy summer season. Shea tree habitat stretches in a band across Africa, from Senegal to the west to Sudan in the east, and up into the foothills of Ethiopia.
Is shea butter a nut?
The shea seed contains a rich butter full of beneficial nutrients, even though it’s a hard nut to crack. Rich, moisturizing shea butter—valued for centuries in Africa as a food, traditional remedy and cosmetic—is processed from shea nuts, which grow on trees found only Africa’s dry savanna belt.
Why are shea nuts important?
In the 1790s, Scottish explorer Mungo Park described the production and importance of shea nuts during his travels through Africa: “The people were everywhere employed in collecting the fruit of the shea trees, from which they prepare the vegetable butter mentioned in former parts of this work.
How to export shea butter to South Africa?
The first step in the export process is registering as an exporter. The tables below provide the neces- sary information required for businesses from Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso and Togo, that are interest- ed in exporting shea butter, shea kernels, and shea cosmetics to South Africa. A. Registering as an Exporter in Benin 1
Which countries export the most Shea products from West Africa?
Specifically, this manual is based on an economic analysis from which six key export markets with the most market potential for shea products from West Africa have been selected. These are South Africa, Kenya, Angola, Japan, South Korea and China.
Where do Shea trees grow?
Shea trees thrive especially well in hot, tropical areas averaging 900 mm – 1200 mm rainfall a year and aren’t too picky about soil conditions. Its found all across the dry savannah belt, north of the equator. Countries leading the production and export of shea butter include Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana and Sudan.