Tuntaya Sheabutter makes inroads in UK market

Wa, Aug. 28, GNA - Tuntaya Sheabutter Association, a consortium of sheabutter producers in the Northern Region of Ghana is now making inroads in the international market.

Apart from serving the local market, Tuntaya Sheabutter Association, which comprises 12 women groups now exports 12 tons of sheabutter to the United Kingdom each month.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Wa during their familiarisation tour of the region, Madam Monica Tuffuor, Vice-Chairperson of Association said it had a total of 450 registered members.

She said the Association had over the years spent part of its profit in development projects in the fields of education, health, water and sanitation.

"We have been able to construct schools, clinics, KVIPs and other sanitary projects and hope to do more in the future."

The Vice-Chairperson said the Association, which was currently working in Tamale, Tolon/Kunbumgu, Gonja West and Gushiegu Districts would soon extend its operations to other districts.

Madam Tuffuor said the prices offered in the United Kingdom were three times more than what the local market offered and said it had encouraged most of the groups to work harder since they got more profits from the UK market.

"With these sheabutter programme most women in the association can now cater for their family needs and pay school fees of their wards in school," she added.

She said Northern Ghana Community Action Fund (NOGCAF) was the administrative body of Tuntaya Association, which provided them with capacity building and other development programmes.

She said their visit to the Upper West Region was to acquaint themselves with how people in the region were going about sheabutter production and to share their ideas with others.

During their stay in the region, the group paid courtesy calls on the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Godfrey Bayong Tangu and other associations engaged in in-come generation activities in the region.