• Burkina Faso lifts shea export ban for Dec–May 2025/26
• Exporters must allocate 25% to local processors first
• New export levy, price ceilings aim to boost local industry
  

Burkina Faso will allow shea nut exports for the 2025/2026 season, but only for a six-month window between December 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026. The announcement was made published on Tuesday, September 23, by the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Crafts (MICA).

The decision marks the end of an export ban that had been in effect since September 2024. The government is implementing new measures designed to structure the sector better and create favorable conditions for developing the domestic processing segment.

To obtain a Special Export Authorization (ASE), any company wishing to export must first commit 25% of the total quantity of shea nuts to one or more domestic processing units. This requires a binding delivery contract and a reception slip.

This mandatory quota aims to ensure raw material availability for local factories and prevent the bulk of the harvest from flowing to international markets. Additionally, the maximum selling prices to local processors have been set between 300 and 310 CFA francs per kilogram (CFA/kg) depending on the production region, with the state reserving the right to revise these ceilings based on market developments.

The government is also introducing an export levy of 200 CFA francs on every kilogram of shea nuts exported. This charge will be paid into the state coffers to support development. The initiative is intended to increase tax revenue from shea nut exports and discourage the massive export of unprocessed shea.

Burkina Faso is not alone in West Africa in implementing such a fee. Neighboring Benin also introduced an export levy on shea nuts for its 2025/2026 campaign, launched on August 13. However, Benin's tariff is 165 CFA francs, roughly 18% lower than Burkina Faso’s.

Collectively, the new measures reflect the Burkinabè government's clear intent to stimulate the industrialization of the shea sector while safeguarding the income of all players in the supply chain. Raw materials exported in their unprocessed state, such as shea and cashew nuts, typically fetch higher prices on the international market than they do domestically.

In 2023, combined exports of shea nuts and shea butter generated 60.9 billion CFA francs ($103.5 million) in revenue, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Demographics (INSD).

Stéphanas Assocle