After China, Pakistan to Look at Other Markets to Expand its Sesame Seed Exports

Sesame seed is one of the oldest oilseed crops known in the sub-Saharan Africa region, India and Pakistan. They have the ability to tolerate extreme drought conditions or excessive rainfall making it the perfect crop for tropical countries like India and Pakistan. Pakistan in particular is one of the biggest producers and exporters of sesame seeds in the world. On average Pakistan produces 100,000 tons of sesame seeds from which 85% is exported and the rest during the winter is used in the local market for bakery and sweets. In the crop year 2021-2022, 90% of the crop production is exported from August 2021 to March 2022 making it the first time in history that the crop is finished earlier even before the new harvest started. The situation is very similar even during the 2022-23 year, with exports having crossed 80% of the total production in the initial few months of the year.

The largest volume of sesame exports were made to China during this period. According to the Commercial Counsellor of Pakistan in China, Pakistan exported sesame worth USD 50.32 million in the first five months of the current year 2022. The export value showed a YoY increase of 47.41% which is one of the highest increases in the past few years. The export volume was around 33 thousand mt, again a dramatic YoY increase of 21.35% over the previous year same period. Since the last few years, China has become one of the main destinations of sesame seeds export from Pakistan. The farmers are incentivised to produce sesame seeds as they fetch better prices from exporting these seeds overseas. The country has the potential to expand its sales to countries other than China as well given the growing demand for the seeds in the global market.

Exporting to countries in the European Union can be quite profitable as European sesame imports showed small but continuous annual growth, totalling 20% across the 5 years. These countries offer a fairly mature market which are completely relying on imports to meet the domestic demand as the own production of sesame seeds is negligible. Fortune Business Insights forecasts an increase in sesame seeds market value between 2018 and 2026 by around 43%. The region currently imports sesame from Nigeria, India and Ethiopia but there is still a possibility for Pakistan to capture the market. The country should continue to focus on producing high quality sesame seeds and process them keeping in mind the regulations of the EU and expand its exports beyond China.