Shea drying systems in Togo
What the crop demands, what the country imposes, and what that means for capacity.
Togolese shea is collected in the Savanes and Kara regions in the north, several hundred kilometres from Lomé, and it feeds the same certified cosmetics chains that Benin and Burkina supply. The distance to port is the local complication: kernels that spend days on a truck at high moisture arrive with higher free fatty acid than they left with.
The situation in Togo
Lomé is the only natural deep-water port on this stretch of coast and the country has built an export economy around it. Togo has also become the region’s organic soy specialist, with a certified chain that reaches European feed and food buyers directly — a genuinely unusual position for a country of eight million, and one that depends entirely on documented moisture control.
Growing regions. the Maritime and Plateaux regions in the south, Centrale and Kara further north
What shea kernel drying demands
Shea is collected, not farmed, which makes moisture the whole quality problem: nuts come in wet from the bush at the height of the rains and are traditionally dried on the ground. Free fatty acid rises with every day the kernel sits damp, and FFA is precisely what the butter buyer pays on. Controlled drying to 6–8 % is the difference between industrial grade and cosmetic grade.
Harvest calendar
June to September, during the rains and at the furthest point from the port.
The working campaign window as the trade runs it. It shifts a fortnight either way with the rains.
Process parameters
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Drying temperature | 50–60 °C |
| Final moisture | 6–8 % |
| Yield (fresh : dried) | 3 : 1 |
| Cycle time | 12–20 h |
Sizing starting points from ordinary processing practice, not a validated recipe for your product. Confirm against your own intake and your buyer’s specification.
Worked sizing example
For a unit taking 4 tonnes of fresh product a day, at a yield of 3 : 1:
Illustrative figures calculated from the yield and campaign window above. They size a conversation; they do not describe any existing installation.
Fuel available in Togo
Togo’s organic soy sector generates a growing volume of husk, consistent and easy to feed. Cashew shell in the Centrale region.
- Base load. Soybean husk · Cashew shell · Palm kernel shell
- Supplement. Shea cake and shell · Cotton stalk · Corn cob
See all 27 fuels and their properties
Market and buyer requirements
European cosmetics buyers through Lomé, grading on free fatty acid and moisture, with fair-trade channels well established in the northern regions.
Explore further
The systems that hold this profile
Other crops in Togo
Soybean · Raw cashew nut · Pineapple · Maize
Shea drying elsewhere
Frequently asked questions
Why does distance to port matter for shea?
Because free fatty acid keeps rising in transit. Kernels collected in Savanes or Kara are several hundred kilometres from Lomé, and a lot that travels damp arrives worse than it left — drying to 6–8 % before the truck rather than after is the whole point.
What FFA level separates the grades?
Around 3 % free fatty acid is the working line between cosmetic and industrial grade. It is set during and immediately after collection rather than at the port, which is why a 50–60 °C chamber belongs in Savanes or Kara rather than several hundred kilometres away at the coast.
What scale suits a northern Togolese group?
4 t/day of fresh nut gives about 1.3 tonnes of dried kernel daily at roughly 3 : 1, over a 12 to 20 hour cycle at 50–60 °C. That is around 130 tonnes across the June-to-September season, dried in the north rather than after several hundred kilometres of road to Lomé.
Size a unit in Togo
Tell us your daily fresh volume and target output, and we will size the chambers, the burner and the fuel available around your site.
Request a quote