They said, the rise in patronage of shea butter popularly known as “nkuto” occured during every harmattan season, which made it logical to make the prediction.

This was revealed by a survey conducted by the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday.

The survey, which sought to determine the connection between harmattan and the patronage of creams also revealed that, shea butter sold more than any other cream during the dry season.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ZYpuRpAaHeqhqwxSwzlvuStRhHbbLEJJ”]Susana Akua Atta, who sells shea butter at Mallam market in Accra explained that, the cream was more capable of fighting dry skin as compared to its competitors.

She also said, shea butter had some ingredients, which made it effective for fighting some health problems.

Ms Yaa Aboagyewaa Mensah who owns a cosmetic shop at Dansoman, a suburb of Accra, said the cream moisturised the skin and made it look bright.

“We use nkuto for babies, which makes them look beautiful,” she said.

Mr Appiah Kubi, who deals in the wholesale of the nkuto at Lapaz told the GNA that, the cream was the only solution to fighting the harmattan.

Mr Appiah explained that, the cream was strong enough to stand dry air.

“The cream will make you look fresh all time. It makes your skin soft and relaxed,” he said.

Adelaide Akosua Korantemaa, a beautician and skin therapist at Madina said shea butter was better than all other creams as she explained that it had very significant nutrients capable of militating against skin diseases such as pimples, rashes, boils and wrinkles.

She recommended the cream to everyone saying, “it was best fit for all type skin colours”.

Ms Cynthia Appiah, a nurse said Shea butter was normally recommended for patients during the dry season.

She explained that, unlike some creams which contained some chemicals which could cause skin irritation and bleaching, nkuto had natural composition, which made it appropriate for patients.

Shea butter is slightly yellowish or ivory-coloured natural fat extracted from fruit of the shea tree by crushing and boiling, widely used in cosmetics as a moisturiser and an emollient, as cooking oil in West Africa, and sometimes used in the chocolate industry as a substitute for cocoa butter.

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Source: GNA

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The package is meant for the implementation of a five-year project, dubbed: “GSA Sustainable Shea Initiative” which is expected to increase the income of shea collectors by over US$3.5 million.

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria, are the six beneficiary countries in Africa.

By the project, the annual export value of shea is projected to hit US$132 million, which would be geared towards facilitating 440 thousand tons of shea products.

The USAID/West Africa Regional Economic Growth Office Director, Dr. Mary Hobbs, and the GSA President, Konate Moumouni, jointly launched the project in Tamale.

Dr. Hobbs said under the project, the GSA will liaise with 25 private sector partners and about 250 women shea cooperatives in the beneficiary countries.

This, according to her, will augment promotional and sustainability activities through which 250 warehouses will be built.

She also announced that, over 130 thousand women shea collectors would benefit from capacity building workshops.

“Investing and supporting the growth of the shea industry is one means of helping to improve incomes for women and their families”, Dr. Hobbs stated.

She however admitted that, some bottlenecks needed to be addressed to improve the shea industry value chain system. She underscored the need for enough publicity on the health benefits of the products.

“Despite growth in the use of shea in both cosmetics and the food industry, the culinary and health benefits of using shea are still not widely understood by potential end users.”

“The fragmented and disorganised nature of shea supply chains in Africa means that, sheanut collectors, mostly women, rarely market their product collectively. This reduces the income that women are able to receive from their labours.”

Dr. Hobbs encouraged the planting of more shea trees to avert future shea tree parkland decline.

The GSA President, Konate Moumouni, assured the shea collectors that their safety would be guaranteed under the project.

“The GSA will also host international conferences and exhibitions in Africa, Europe and US as well as undertake research projects to demonstrate the benefits of shea in food and cosmetics”, he added.

It is estimated that, the shea sector in Ghana could yield 100 hundred tones of shea nuts worth about $US 100 million annually.

In Africa, 16 million sheanut collectors are directly and indirectly engaged in the sector.

The economic importance of the shea tree cannot be over emphasized, because researchers have revealed that the mature kernel contains about 61% fat needed for medicinal and industrial purposes.

Shea butter has been found to have a fat composition similar to cocoa butter, and it is used as a substitute for lard or margarine because it makes dough highly pliable.

The shea butter is known to be naturally rich in vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, E, and F.

The residue of shea serves as excellent fuel and can also be mixed with mud for plastering traditional mud huts.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

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