As Ghana celebrates its heritage during Ghana Month, renewed attention is turning to an indigenous commodity that sits at the intersection of culture, rural livelihoods and global commerce. Shea butter, long produced by women across the savannah belt of northern Ghana, has grown into one of West Africa’s most valuable agricultural exports. Yet the industry’s economic structure has sparked growing debate over who truly benefits from a resource many now describe as Africa’s gold.
The conversation gained fresh momentum after Ghanaian entrepreneur and cultural advocate Hamamat Montia drew attention to the issue in a widely shared video, warning that Africa risks losing control over the authenticity and economic value of its own traditional products. Montia, founder of the Shea Butter Museum and the Hamamat African Village brand, said the current structure of the global shea trade is gradually pushing local producers to the margins.
“Africa is at risk of losing authentic shea butter forever,” she said. “Right now, there are big companies that are buying our shea nuts in bulk, shipping them abroad and producing cheap, low-quality shea butter, whilst the women who have made shea butter for generations lose their work, their income, and our legacy.”
Her comments address a longstanding structural challenge in the shea sector. Across Ghana’s Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions, thousands of women collect and process shea nuts using techniques that have been passed down for generations. Yet a large share of the raw nuts is exported abroad where they are refined and integrated into global cosmetic and food manufacturing supply chains.
Shea butter is now a key ingredient in international beauty and skincare products, widely used in lipsticks, lotions, soaps and hair products because of its ability to stabilise and blend ingredients. Montia emphasised the global reliance on the product while highlighting the disparity between its widespread use and the economic realities faced by producers. “Shea butter isn’t just a product, it is Africa’s gold,” she said. “It is used in lipstick, lotions, soap, you name it. The beauty industry loves it because it’s an emulsifier. It keeps all their chemicals and scents together as if it were natural.”
The global market reflects the scale of this demand. Industry estimates place the value of the shea butter market at more than 2.7 billion dollars globally, with projections suggesting it could more than double over the next decade as demand for plant-based ingredients rises. According to industry data, Ghana has become a central player in that trade, with the country exporting more than 60,000 metric tonnes of shea products annually to markets in Europe, the United States and Asia.
The sector has also emerged as one of Ghana’s most important non-traditional exports. The Ghana Export Promotion Authority has noted that shea butter exports alone were valued at more than 92 million dollars in 2022, underscoring the commodity’s growing economic significance.
Government and industry leaders increasingly see the sector as a strategic pillar of Ghana’s agricultural economy. Speaking at the World Shea Expo in Tamale, Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor, Director for Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness, revealed that Ghana is currently producing between 130,000 and 150,000 metric tonnes of shea nuts each year, generating an estimated 118 million dollars in value.
But policymakers also acknowledge that much of the industry’s potential remains untapped. The country continues to export significant volumes of raw nuts rather than finished products, meaning a substantial portion of the economic value is captured overseas.
Dr Otokunor has therefore argued that Ghana must reposition the sector around value addition and domestic processing. “Ghana must move from being a raw material exporter to a nation of value-added exports,” he said while outlining plans to strengthen local processing capacity and expand the industry into a 640 million dollar export sector.
The stakes are especially high for rural communities where the shea tree is both an economic and ecological asset. The tree, which takes about two decades to mature, grows naturally across the savannah belt and cannot easily be cultivated on plantations. For many families, the seasonal collection of shea nuts represents one of the few reliable income sources available to women in the region.
Industry advocates frequently refer to these women as the backbone of the shea value chain. As one industry leader noted at the launch of the Ghana Shea Employers Association, “Without the pickers, there is no nut,” emphasising the central role rural women play in sustaining the sector.
Against this backdrop, Montia’s Shea Butter Museum has emerged as both a cultural and economic statement. Located in Accra, the museum documents the traditional process of shea butter production and highlights the women whose labour sustains the industry. It also serves as a platform for educating visitors about the product’s history, authenticity and economic significance.
Montia says the initiative is about protecting more than a natural resource. “The world uses shea butter daily,” she said. “And right now, our women are being pushed aside. I refuse to let Africa’s legacy be erased. This is why I built the Shea Butter Museum, to preserve, produce and share authenticity.”
Her message resonates within a broader African debate about ownership of natural resources and the need to capture greater value from them. Just as cocoa, gold and oil have shaped the continent’s economic history, shea butter is increasingly being recognised as a strategic commodity whose future could influence livelihoods across West Africa.
For Ghana, the question now is not simply how much shea the country can produce, but how much of its value can be retained within the continent. As the industry expands and global demand accelerates, the challenge will be balancing commercial growth with cultural preservation and ensuring that the women who have carried the tradition for generations remain at the centre of Africa’s shea economy.
