Founder of Moore Organics, Adebisi Odeleye, said the country stands to lose $26 million to the six-month shea nut export ban. She noted that prices have already fallen by over 30 per cent since the Federal Government announced the ban, eroding the incomes of farmers and aggregators.
 
Speaking with The Guardian, she said the ban presented a tricky dilemma for industry players, who have long advocated processing and refining the product rather than relying solely on exports.
 
Noting that Nigeria loses millions of dollars yearly by exporting raw shea nuts instead of processing them into finished products, she said: “If Nigeria can process the nuts, in a single year, the country could earn between $315 million and $394 million, according to our data.   
 
“Now, if we can refine the nuts as other countries do – because there is a huge difference between processing and refining (which is what is used for cosmetic-grade products) – our revenue could increase to as much as a billion dollars yearly. In the beauty sector, where significant money is made and the biggest players operate, if we can locally create products like lotions, creams, makeup, and so on for export, our expected revenue could skyrocket to as much as $2 billion annually.”
 
Arguing that a ban was not necessarily the solution, she asked: “What happens after the ban is lifted? Are we simply going to resume exports when we have been advocating for value addition through processing and refining?”
 
National President, Association of Small Business Owners in Nigeria (ASBON), Femi Egbesola, however, said the ban holds promise as it shows that the country is beginning to be serious about looking inwards.
 
Noting that shea nuts have numerous derivatives, he said, despite the complaint of oversupply, the farmers have not been able to meet the local demand. He said the ban sought to ensure that commodities are not exported without some form of value addition. While it sounds good on paper, he said, proper execution is needed to harvest the gain.

 “The government has introduced several policies in the past without any safety net for those affected. The farmers, aggregators, traders and all others in the value chain should have been given enough time, like a year or two, to adjust to it.
 
“After the ban is lifted, what is next? Has the government made provision for ways that the commodity can be processed properly? Have the farmers been placed in clusters and provided a conducive environment to create added value for the product?” he asked.
 
These are the things that should have been done before hurriedly announcing a ban, but we are fond of placing the cart before the horse, always. Just as the subsidy on petrol was yanked off like that and over two years later, we are still suffering the effects,” he added. He said implementation has been a problem, with the smallholder farmers expected to be negatively affected by the current policy.
 
Arguing that this should be a well-thought-out long-term policy, he expressed sadness that there is no indication the government intends to develop the sector beyond pronouncing a ban that would only send some of the small entrepreneurs out of business.
 
“I always tell business owners to look out for themselves and not to focus on what the government will do for them. They must innovate; six or more of them can pull resources together and start processing. They can improve on their standards and look at other markets. They also need to be united and drive advocacy to ensure their survival,” he noted.
 
Predicting that no less than 50 per cent of investments in the area would be lost to the ban, he urged the government to quickly intervene with transparent support to ensure many operators do not fold up.

National president, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN), Sheriff Balogun, said there are pros and cons to the ban. He wondered how the goal would be achieved, as there are currently no systems on the ground to support processing.
 
“Very few people can afford the machines and equipment needed for refining and processing. More importantly, the environment is not encouraging. There is poor power, zero infrastructure and all the numerous problems hindering businesses are still very much in place. Also, if we manage to process locally, can we sell at competitive prices, bearing in mind the afore-mentioned production problems?
 
“I would love to see a situation where people process and refine locally and are encouraged to do so, not by banning but by providing the right incentives and environment to do so. As it stands today, can we access single-digit loans to buy equipment, raw materials and all other things needed for full-time production?
 
“With N50 million, one can export and make a little profit but to process and refine, one would need 10 to 20 times this amount. Who is going to give us this at a reasonable interest rate?” he queried.  He added that the whole circumstance around the ban remains a mystery to him, as well as to other stakeholders.
 
“I do not understand the six-month ban, to be honest. Are processing hubs going to be set up in six months, or is the timeframe to give local producers time to stock up raw materials, or what exactly is happening during this period?” he asked.
 
Expressing concern for exporters with outstanding obligations, he warned that they might be thrown into serious debts they might not recover from.
Noting that they are ready to support the government and its policies, he said the government needs to put traders and business owners into consideration before announcing some policies that would have serious effects on them. He pleaded that those with obligations should be allowed to fulfill them so as not to incur heavy debts and lose goodwill in international markets.
 
“Six months is not much and at the same time it is, depending on what side of the fence you are sitting. However, prices will continue to drop. But to whose advantage, the farmers, aggregators, or manufacturers? Farmers and aggregators are losing millions daily. How will they be compensated? The pickers, mostly women and youths, would also be out of a job or have their payments slashed. Again, I ask, to whose advantage?
 
“Processing and refining are good, but we need a viable environment to do so and ensure that everyone in the value chain makes money. They should be given incentives and encouraged. An outright ban is not the way to do this. The sector is being harmed, not helped,” he concluded.