Shea Butter Supplier in South Africa
Unrefined Grade A and refined N-RBD shea butter, manufactured in Ibadan, Nigeria and shipped to Durban and Cape Town with a COA for every batch.
Summary
Nigerian shea butter for South Africa
The commercial shea belt is West African, not South African. A Johannesburg or Cape Town plant is still importing the fat through Durban. South Africa is a destination, not a shea-growing country. Durban feeds Johannesburg; Cape Town is the Western Cape door. DoH applies the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act. EMI Agro works with 5,000+ women collectors in Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Kogi. Johannesburg buyers usually take the inland haul from Durban.
Ask for a batch COA on a NIS 571:2013 basis: free fatty acid, peroxide value, moisture, colour and melting point. Reject lots that smell sharply rancid or pour like liquid oil at room temperature. DoH filings sit with the South Africa importer — they do not replace a COA.
Trial lots start at 5 tonnes; standard orders start at 20 tonnes. Send the request even if you need less — EMI Agro reviews every South Africa enquiry against current production of 40 tonnes per week of finished shea butter and can schedule rolling shipments. Lead time is Ibadan production plus ocean time to Durban. Quotes are EXW, FOB or CIF; each term prices different services beyond the butter.
Two questions. We show the grade, the documents that usually apply and the next step — we do not invent a price.
Products available in South Africa
Unrefined Grade A, refined N-RBD and shea press cake are available for South Africa.
Cold-pressed, wild-collected unrefined Grade A shea butter from Ibadan, Nigeria: ivory to pale yellow, natural odour, produced to NIS 571:2013 with a Certificate of Analysis on every batch.
Refined N-RBD (neutralised, bleached, deodorised) shea butter: white to off-white, odourless, very low in free fatty acid, specified for food, cocoa butter equivalent, pharmaceutical excipient and neutral cosmetic bases.
The solid residue left after mechanical pressing of shea kernels at EMI Agro Industries, Ibadan: supplied in bulk as an input for animal feed, soap making and organic fertiliser or biomass.
Application notes for cosmetics sit on unrefined Grade A for cosmetics; food use sits on refined N-RBD for food manufacturing.
Shipping to South Africa
EMI Agro quotes EXW, FOB, CIF for South Africa; the buyer chooses.
| Port | UN/LOCODE | Transit (days) | Serves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durban | ZADUR | 12–22 | Johannesburg, Durban |
| Cape Town | ZACPT | 12–22 | Cape Town |
Container fit for a named format is confirmed on the quote. Use the shea export container calculator when that tool is live.
Regulatory & compliance in South Africa
Shea butter imported into South Africa is overseen by The Department of Health administers the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act 54 of 1972). That Act controls the sale, manufacture, importation and exportation of cosmetics in the Republic. and The same Act covers foodstuffs. Food-use shea butter is entered as a vegetable fat and follows Department of Health food-import controls, not a finished-food approval for the Nigerian plant.; customs clearance runs through The South African Revenue Service (SARS) takes the SAD500 customs declaration. Shea butter is declared under heading 1515.90 on Schedule 1 Part 1 of the Customs and Excise Act; the importer confirms the eight-digit national line and check digit..
Finished cosmetics placed on the South African market follow the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act and its labelling and composition regulations.
MOQ, pricing basis & payment
- MOQ
- Standard orders start at 20 tonnes. Trial lots start at 5 tonnes. Smaller volumes can still be requested — we review every enquiry against current production.
- Pricing basis
- Quoted per Incoterm. EXW, FOB and CIF attract different prices because each term adds different freight, insurance or local services beyond the shea butter itself.
- Samples
- Trial lots start at 5 tonnes of the named grade. Send the request even if you need less — we review whether we can supply.
Quotes for South Africa are built from grade, packaging, Incoterm and port of discharge; tell us those four and we price the lane.
Certifications relevant to South Africa
Status words are taken from the quality page. A mark that EMI does not hold is omitted, not listed as “not held”.
Why buyers in South Africa choose EMI Agro
- NIS 571:2013 basis with AOCS / ISO methods
- In-house QC lab; a Certificate of Analysis with every batch
- Wild-collected shea nuts via a cooperative network; 5,000+ women collectors
- Direct manufacturer in Ibadan — see about EMI Agro and the sample COA
Buyer-type notes for this region sit on distributors wholesalers.
City hubs we serve in South Africa
Related pages
Shea butter supplier in the United States
Manufacturer-direct bulk shea for the United States.
Shea butter supplier in the European Union
Manufacturer-direct bulk shea for the European Union.
Shea butter supplier in Germany
Manufacturer-direct bulk shea for Germany.
Shea butter supplier in France
Manufacturer-direct bulk shea for France.
Shea butter supplier by country
All published supplier pages.
Exporting shea butter from Nigeria
HS 1515.90, load ports and export documents.
Products
Unrefined Grade A, refined N-RBD and shea press cake.
Buyer type
How this market usually buys.
Frequently asked questions
Last reviewed September 2026 by EMI Agro Industries QC team.
Manufacturer-direct from Ibadan, Nigeria
Get a bulk shea butter quote for South Africa
Unrefined Grade A or refined N-RBD, with a COA for the batch. Tell us grade, volume and the discharge port.
You have just read Shea Butter Supplier in South Africa. 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.