Shea-Producing Regions, Certifications & Test Methods
Where shea grows, what each certification means, and how each laboratory method on a Certificate of Analysis works.
Summary
23 regions
Shea-producing regions
Where the kernels come from, when they are collected, and whether EMI Agro buys there — so you can read an origin claim against a real place.
Nigeria
National overview
Nigeria
Nigeria's shea trees stand in the Guinea and Sudan savannah of the north-central and northern states, from the Oke-Ogun fringe in the south-west across the Niger–Benue confluence to the Cameroon and Chad borders.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Ibadan (factory), Bida, Kaiama
subsp. paradoxaEMI sources hereRead more
Nigerian state
Niger State
Niger State occupies a large share of Nigeria's Southern and Northern Guinea savannah west of the Federal Capital, along the Niger River and the Bida Basin.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Bida, Mokwa, Kontagora
subsp. paradoxaEMI sources hereRead more
Nigerian state
Kwara State
Kwara sits on Nigeria's western border with Benin.
- Collection
- Roughly May–August, often earlier than sites further north
- Key towns
- Kaiama, Baruten, Moro
subsp. paradoxaEMI sources hereRead more
Nigerian state
Kebbi State
Kebbi is north-western Nigeria, spanning Guinea and Sudan savannah along the Niger River toward the Benin and Niger borders.
- Collection
- Roughly June–September
- Key towns
- Zuru, Yauri
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Nigerian state
Kogi State
Kogi is the confluence state at the meeting of the Niger and Benue.
- Collection
- Roughly May–August, often earlier than sites further north
- Key towns
- Kabba, Lokoja
subsp. paradoxaEMI sources hereRead more
Nigerian state
Kaduna State
Southern Kaduna is Guinea savannah shea country; the far north of the state grades into drier Sudan savannah toward the Sahel margin of the range.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Kachia, Kagarko, Jema'a
subsp. paradoxaEMI sources hereRead more
Nigerian state
Oyo State
Northern Oyo — the Oke-Ogun towns of Saki and Iseyin — sits on the southern fringe of the Nigerian shea belt.
- Collection
- Roughly May–August, often earlier than sites further north
- Key towns
- Saki, Iseyin, Ibadan (factory)
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Nigerian state
Nasarawa State
Nasarawa lies east of the Federal Capital in north-central Guinea savannah, between the Jos Plateau and the Benue trough.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Lafia, Keffi
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Nigerian state
Borno State
Southern Borno — the Biu Plateau and the Askira/Uba axis — is the eastern Nigerian fringe of the shea belt.
- Collection
- Roughly June–September
- Key towns
- Biu, Askira
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Nigerian state
Adamawa State
Adamawa occupies the Gongola basin and the Cameroon-border highlands.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Yola, Numan
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Nigerian state
Taraba State
Taraba spans the Benue trough and the Mambilla highlands.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Wukari, Ibi
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Nigerian state
Plateau State
Lower Plateau — Langtang, Wase, Shendam and Quan Pan — is Guinea savannah inside the belt.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Langtang, Wase, Shendam
subsp. paradoxaRead more
West Africa
Country
Ghana
Ghana's shea trees stand in the northern savannah — Northern, Savannah, North East, Upper East and Upper West Regions — not in the humid forest south.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Tamale, Wa, Bolgatanga
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Country
Burkina Faso
Almost the whole of Burkina Faso is Sudanian savannah inside the shea range.
- Collection
- Roughly June–September
- Key towns
- Bobo-Dioulasso, Ouagadougou
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Country
Mali
Shea in Mali is a southern and central-southern tree — Sikasso, Ségou and Koulikoro, with some extension toward Mopti.
- Collection
- Roughly June–September
- Key towns
- Sikasso, Ségou, Koulikoro
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Country
Benin
Benin's shea belt is the northern four departments — Borgou, Alibori, Atacora and Donga — continuous with Kwara and Kebbi across the Nigerian border and with Togo and Burkina Faso to the west.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Parakou, Natitingou, Kandi
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Country
Togo
Togolese shea is a northern tree: Savanes, Kara and the northern part of Centrale, on the same savannah corridor as Ghana's Northern Region and Benin's Atacora.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Dapaong, Kara
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Country
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivorian shea is confined to the northern savannah — the Savanes district around Korhogo, and adjoining parts of Zanzan and Woroba — not the cocoa-forest south.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Korhogo
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Country
Guinea
Upper Guinea — Kankan, Siguiri, Faranah and Kouroussa — is the shea zone.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Kankan, Siguiri, Faranah
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Country
Senegal
Senegal is the western limit of the shea range.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Tambacounda, Kédougou
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Country
Cameroon
Cameroonian shea is a northern tree: the North and Adamawa Regions, continuous with Adamawa and Taraba in Nigeria.
- Collection
- Roughly May–September
- Key towns
- Garoua, Ngaoundéré
subsp. paradoxaRead more
Country
Chad
Southern Chad — Logone, Moyen-Chari, Mandoul and Mayo-Kebbi — is Sudanian savannah inside the belt.
- Collection
- Roughly June–September
- Key towns
- Moundou, Sarh
subsp. paradoxaRead more
9 certifications
Shea butter certifications explained
What each scheme covers, who usually asks for it, and EMI Agro’s status — so you can tell a registration from a grade.
Registration
NAFDAC
Nigeria's federal regulator for food, drugs, cosmetics and related products.
- Who typically needs it
- Any food or cosmetic product sold in Nigeria, and many export files that ask for the origin-country product registration.
- EMI status
- Registered
Read more
Approval
SON
Nigeria's national standards body.
- Who typically needs it
- Nigerian manufactured goods and buyers who ask for a SON mark or evidence that the factory works to a Nigerian standard.
- EMI status
- Approved
Read more
Management system
HACCP
Hazard analysis and critical control points — a food-safety system that identifies hazards and the steps that control them.
- Who typically needs it
- Food manufacturers and many cosmetic contract manufacturers that ask suppliers to run a documented HACCP plan.
- EMI status
- In progress
Read more
Organic scheme
EU Organic (EOS)
The European Union organic production and labelling regime, often called EOS by buyers.
- Who typically needs it
- EU buyers who will label food or cosmetics as organic, or who need organic-status shea as an input.
- EMI status
- In pursuit
Read more
Organic scheme
USDA NOP
The USDA National Organic Program is the United States organic production and labelling rule.
- Who typically needs it
- US buyers making an organic claim on the butter or a finished good. Canada often relies on organic equivalence arrangements rather than a second full audit.
- EMI status
- In pursuit
Read more
Organic scheme
COSMOS
A cosmetic organic and natural scheme owned by COSMOS-standard AISBL.
- Who typically needs it
- EU, UK and global natural-cosmetic brands that will put a COSMOS signature on a finished product or that specify COSMOS-approved ingredients.
- EMI status
- In pursuit
Read more
Religious certification
Halal
A dietary and religious compliance mark issued by a recognised Halal body after it audits ingredients, process and hygiene against its own standard.
- Who typically needs it
- Many Middle East buyers, and some South-East Asian buyers, for food and often for personal care.
Read more
Management system
ISO 22000
ISO 22000:2018 is a food-safety management system standard.
- Who typically needs it
- Food manufacturers and some distributors that ask suppliers for a certified food-safety management system rather than a HACCP plan alone.
Read more
Membership
Global Shea Alliance membership
A trade association for the shea sector.
- Who typically needs it
- Producers, brands and organisations that want to take part in sector standards, sustainability programmes and trade events.
- EMI status
- Member
Read more
9 methods
Shea butter test methods
What each AOCS or ISO line on a Certificate of Analysis actually measures, and which specification it belongs to.
AOCS
AOCS Ca 5a-40 — Free Fatty Acids
FFA in shea is a raw-material problem set by kernel handling before the press, not by filtration afterwards.
- What it measures
- Free acids split from the triglyceride — a freshness / fermentation history.
- Unit
- % (as oleic acid)
- Equivalent
- ISO 660
Read more
AOCS
AOCS Cd 8-53 — Peroxide Value
PV is a storage parameter. It can later fall as oxidation advances, so a single low number is not a life-history by itself.
- What it measures
- Primary oxidation products.
- Unit
- meq O₂/kg
- Equivalent
- ISO 3960
Read more
AOCS
AOCS Ca 2b-38 — Moisture and Volatile Matter
Shea is an anhydrous fat. Moisture above a tight band shortens shelf life and raises free fatty acid after packing.
- What it measures
- Water and other volatiles that drive hydrolysis and mould risk.
- Unit
- %
- Equivalent
- ISO 662
Read more
ISO
ISO 6320 — Determination of refractive index
An off-range refractive index is an adulteration or wrong-fat signal, not a process fault.
- What it measures
- An identity reading of the triglyceride make-up.
- Unit
- at 40 °C
- Equivalent
- AOCS Cc 7-25
Read more
AOCS
AOCS Cd 3-25 — Saponification Value
Paraffin and some foreign fats lower saponification value sharply; the number belongs on any serious identity screen.
- What it measures
- Average fatty-acid chain length — an identity check.
- Unit
- mg KOH/g
- Equivalent
- ISO 3657
Read more
AOCS
AOCS Ca 6a-40 — Unsaponifiable Matter
Unrefined shea is characteristically high in unsaponifiables compared with most vegetable fats; dilution lowers the figure.
- What it measures
- The non-glyceride fraction — triterpenes, tocopherols and sterols.
- Unit
- %
Read more
AOCS
AOCS Cc 3-25 — Slip Melting Point
West African paradoxa shea typically slips in the low-to-mid thirties to mid-forties °C; nilotica lots are softer.
- What it measures
- The temperature at which the fat column slips — texture, not purity.
- Unit
- °C
- Equivalent
- ISO 6321
Read more
AOCS
AOCS Cd 1-25 — Iodine Value of Fats and Oils (Wijs)
Shea sits in a published iodine-value band; a shift flags a foreign fat or an unusual oleic/stearic balance.
- What it measures
- Unsaturation — an identity and softness check.
- Unit
- g I₂/100 g
- Equivalent
- ISO 3961
Read more
AOCS
AOCS Cc 13e-92 — Color of Fats and Oils (Lovibond)
Unrefined shea is typically ivory to yellow; refined N-RBD is white. Whiteness is not a purity proof.
- What it measures
- Colour grade of the melted fat — appearance, not purity.
- Unit
- Lovibond / visual grade
Read more
Explore more
Uses & buying questions
Cosmetic uses, adulteration signs, producing regions and supplier questions.
Shea butter glossary
Short definitions of laboratory, process and trade terms.
Buyer guides
How to import, read a COA, store and refine shea butter.
Shea butter specifications
Nine parameters, grades and AOCS/ISO methods.
Research & data
Publication protocol for anonymised shea quality datasets.
Complete guide to shea butter
Origin, grades, specifications and sourcing.
Frequently asked questions
Manufacturer-direct from Ibadan, Nigeria
Need a COA or a quote for your destination?
Tell us the grade, volume and port — our QC and export team will reply with what we can ship.
You have just read regions, certifications and test methods. The next step is a real lot from the factory that produces it — EMI Agro, with factory-direct pricing and a batch Certificate of Analysis.
Trusted manufacturer
EMI Agro Industries Limited (RC 9364495) presses the butter in Ibadan — we are not a trading company.
Competitive factory-direct prices
Quoted EXW, FOB or CIF — the buyer chooses. You pay the factory, not a chain of middlemen.
Export-ready supply
We ship to European Union, United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Southeast Asia, China, India, Middle East, Latin America. Load ports: Apapa (Lagos) or Tin Can Island (Lagos).
Documented lots
40 tonnes per week of finished shea butter, a Certificate of Analysis on every batch, NAFDAC registered and SON approved.