Pakistan’s Sesame Production and Exports Continues its Meteoric Rise

Published Feb 14, 2022

Pakistan sesame exports to China reached a record 92,517 mt, valued at USD 120.44 million in 2021 according to Pakistan’s Daily Times. This would be more than a tenfold increase from 2020, when Pakistan exported only 9,341 mt, at a value of USD 11.08 million to China, according to mirror data from the General Customs and Administration of China. This incredible increase comes on the back of Phase II of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, which eliminated a 10% tariff on sesame imports from Pakistan, as well as inputs from Chinese importers to guide production in Pakistan.

Skyrocketing production and Exports

Pakistan produced 102,196 mt of sesame seeds in MY 2020/21, up 59% from MY 2019/20 and the highest on record. According to the Daily Times, Pakistan’s Commercial Counselor in Beijing pointed out that some farmers made the switch from bulk production of wheat and rice to sesame which is a higher value crop. There has also been input from Chinese specialists and increased use of advanced production and sorting machines. This has helped the sesame industry in Pakistan nearly triple production from three years ago and subsequently boosted exports.

While final data for Pakistan’s exports for 2021 might not be available for quite some time, using mirror data (that is, imports from Pakistan reported by other countries), shows that it might easily top 120,000 mt in 2021. China imported more than 91,000 mt from Pakistan in 2021, Japan’s tally for January to November is already at 3,765 mt, South Korea imported 3,000 mt through January to November, both Poland and Greece’s imports already passed 2,000 mt each with 2 months left to go and many other countries have reported large imports from Pakistan, with a few more months to go before 2021’s totals are concluded.

*Production and Area is for the crop year, exports are for the calendar year

**2021 confirmed exports, so far, are nearly 120,000 mt. Many countries have only reported up to M10, or M11 and others have reported for even fewer months.

Exports to China Exploding

The rise in Pakistan’s production and exports is closely related to the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA). The second phase of this free trade agreement came into effect on January 1st, 2020. This eliminated the import tariff of Pakistani sesame seeds to China, which was 10% of the value of imports previously. The agreement also led to closer cooperation between importers of sesame seed and handlers and farmers in Pakistan. The rate at which Pakistan’s production was able to adapt to the opportunity in the Chinese market is quite remarkable. In total, It's estimated that China imported nearly 1.3 million mt of sesame in 2020, and that number might even rise to 1.5 million mt when 2021’s numbers are finalized. Pakistan did not even supply 7% of China’s total sesame imports, despite the boom in 2021, which indicates that there is still a lot of potential for Pakistani sesame in the Chinese market.