<aside> 📌 Last updated June 26th, 2024.

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Fact Sheet

Shea oil is produced from shea butter, and is considered a sustainable alternative to palm oil.

🚜 Supply chain

Natural Shea butter has long been made by women.

Pressed raw Shea butter can be obtained by manual crushing (traditional pounding) or by mechanical pressure. Both methods share the same four essential steps, each of which is carried out differently depending on the process. The nut contains a kernel from which the fat used to make shea butter is extracted.

There are three methods for extracting butter from the kernel contained in the shea fruit:

• the traditional method: the kernels are crushed, roasted, kneaded and then heated in a pot of boiling water. The result is artisanal shea butter. The heat somewhat alters its qualities.
• cold-pressed extraction: the kernels are simply crushed in a press, at a temperature below 80°C. This mechanical method does not extract all the butter present in the nut. It is, however, the highest quality method, since it preserves the active principles of shea butter.
• solvent extraction: the almonds are ground and then a solvent, hexane, is used. The butter still contained in the kernels dissolves in the hexane. The hexane is then allowed to evaporate, and the shea butter is recovered. This method is the most cost-effective, but the resulting shea butter is of inferior quality.

📈 Production & consumption

<aside> 🌎 The main shea exporters are Ghana, Burkina Faso and Benin.

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Burkina Faso is often considered the world's largest producer of shea butter, with production estimated at between 300,000 and 350,000 tonnes a year. Ghana is also a major producer, with output estimated at between 200,000 and 250,000 tonnes a year.

🍳 Derived ingredients & uses

Shea butter is primarily known for its uses in the cosmetics industry and the manufacture of skin care products - but it can also be used for food purposes.

In some parts of Africa, shea butter is used as a culinary ingredient. It can be used for cooking, frying and preparing various dishes. It is often used as an alternative to butter or oil in traditional recipes. In West / East Africa and the Sahel, shea butter is added to hot beverages such as tea or coffee to give them a creamy texture and characteristic flavor.

In baking, shea butter is used to prepare cookies, cakes, pies and other baked goods. It can replace traditional butter or oil in certain recipes to add a distinctive flavor.

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