SHEA BUTTER MARKET ANALYSIS

Regional Analysis

Africa is expected to gain major traction in Shea butter market, over the forecast period (2018 - 2025). The Shea tree is found in the western and eastern regions of Africa, which are namely Ghana, Benin, Chad, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Mali, Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Niger, Togo, Sudan, Guinea, Uganda, and Zaire. According to USAID, the Shea industry in West Africa is rapidly expanding. Demand for Shea butter produced in the region has nearly doubled in the past ten years, and it is an important ingredient in food and cosmetic products worldwide. More than 16 million rural women in Africa work in a Shea extraction factories where the Shea butter is extracted from the nut by grinding, crushing, cracking, roasting, separating oils and shaping. Major players such as Shea Radiance, Star Shea Ltd. and others are investing in market due to wide availability of raw materials for the Shea butter and low labor cost.

Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region in the Shea butter market during the forecast period. The high stearic acid content of Shea butter helps to prevent or maintain the cholesterol level, which reduce the low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein, and the total cholesterol. According to World Health Organization (WHO), every 1 in 3 persons suffers from high cholesterol in Asia Pacific region. According to the ASEAN Federation of Cardiology Congress, in 2016, around 60% population in Myanmar was suffering from high cholesterol. Thus these factors are expected to drive growth of the market, as Shea butter could be used as both medicinal purpose and also as an edible product.