Bunge Loders Croklaan Opens its First Shea Butter Processing Plant in Ghana

Global speciality oils and fats supplier Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC) has opened a shea butter processing facility in Ghana, reports the World-Grain.com on September 08. The opening of the processing plant in Tema is part of the company’s ‘Where Life Grows’ campaign to protect and advance the shea supply chain in West Africa.  In operation since 2019, the facility is BLC’s first shea processing plant in Africa and the largest of its kind on the continent, according to the company.

A fully automated solvent fractionation plant, the facility processes raw shea butter made from locally collected and crushed shea nuts into two major products – shea olein and shea stearin. Shea stearin is further processed in BLC’s facilities in the Netherlands, Malaysia, Canada, and the USA, to produce ingredients for food and non-food applications.  For example, cocoa butter equivalents (CBEs) are used in chocolate confectionery. 

The ‘Where Life Grows’ campaign is part of the company’s shea sustainability program which was set up three years ago to empower women collecting shea, create socio-economic value in their communities, and conserve and regenerate the shea landscape in the region.  In Africa, 16 million women living in rural communities and their families depend on the shea industry to financially support their households. Shea, also known as the ‘tree of life’ by locals, has become a vital ingredient in both food and non-food products, driving up demand for shea butter.