He said the huge sum lost to smuggling made the NEPC to intervene in Shea butter development in the country.
Awolowo, who spoke on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of a two- day Shea 2015 conference in Abuja with the theme: “Shea Sector Development in Nigeria – A Concerted Renaissance,” added that Nigeria was now the global leader in Shea export.
Stakeholders in the sector at the conference said that Shea had the potential to contribute over $3 billion dollars to the Nigerian economy.
He said: “NEPC intervention in Shea butter development in Nigeria stems from this: every year, nearly N345 billion is lost to smuggling of Shea products.
“The global demand for Shea butter is worth about $10 billion dollars and it is projected to be worth about $30 billion dollars by the year 2020.
“Nigerian Shea has not only penetrated the American market but has done so while adhering to the highest international quality standard. Nigeria is now said to be the global leader in Shea export.”
Awolowo explained that Shea products produced in 16 states of the federation suffers from poor quality control.
SOURCE:THE NATION
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