Shea butter

Shea butter is a fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa). It is ivory-coloured when raw, with a creamy texture. The shea tree grows naturally in the savannah belt that stretches across about 21 countries from Senegal in the west to South Sudan in the east. In Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali and northern Nigeria shea is a major source of income for rural women, who collect the nuts, ferment, roast, grind and boil them to extract the butter. Shea butter is used in cooking, traditional medicine, soap-making and as a cosmetic moisturiser. International trade is mostly in refined shea for chocolate, confectionery and cosmetic industries.