Nigeria has announced a six-month ban on the export of raw shea nuts from which many beauty creams are made.
The move is aimed at making the trade more lucrative as Nigeria is losing out by not producing much shea butter locally.
The country produces nearly 40% of the world's annual crop, but it only accounts for 1% of the $6.5bn (£4.8bn) global market - a situation Vice-President Kashim Shettima described as "unacceptable".
Harvested fruit from shea nut trees have to be crushed, roasted and boiled to extract their oil to produce the shea butter used in cosmetics.
The butter is also used in the food industry in the production of some sweets like chocolate and ice creams - and in pharmaceuticals too.
