In Mali, shea turns into gold

Since the ECOWAS economic sanctions, the Economic Community of West African States, were lifted on July 3, Mali hopes to resume its exports of shea butter. Third largest producer in the world behind Nigeria and Burkina Faso, the country opened Mali Shi, its first factory to process shea nuts into butter, in March 2021, in order to catch up with its neighbors. One of the poorest countries in the world, Mali mainly exports raw products with low added value. Ghana already has five factories on its soil, Burkina Faso two.

The almonds contained in shea nuts are highly prized by the food industry, which uses them in the composition of chocolate as a substitute for cocoa. The cosmetics sector is also fond of it, for its nourishing effects on the skin. Thus, world exports of shea have been multiplied by twenty in twenty years.

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Inaugurated in the outskirts of Bamako…