The Swedish agribusiness company AAK has signed an agreement through its local subsidiary AAK Ghana with Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture to strengthen its activities in the country’s shea sector.

Over the coming years, an additional 70,000 female shea nut collectors are to be integrated into the supply chain.
The partnership also includes cooperation in expanding domestic processing of shea nuts. The government of Ghana plans to gradually suspend the export of raw shea nuts from 2026 onwards and instead promote local processing within the country.

AAK has been operating in Ghana since 1958 and sources its shea nuts directly from women collectors. To date, the company does not operate a processing facility in the country and exports most of the collected nuts abroad.

If the plans are implemented, AAK’s announced investments in processing facilities could strengthen local industrial capacity and support the government’s new policy direction for the shea sector. Shea nuts are primarily used in the cosmetics, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries.