1. Highlights: The sesame exports market in Nigeria is expected to continue with its gradual
recovery with value of exports increasing by 16% in 2017 (yoy) and an emerging trend of
shifting supplies to Chinese buyers. Expectedly, Japanese share of Nigerian exports are
expected to remain stable or in the worst scenario dwindle as Nigeria lost her leader status
to Burkina Faso in 2017. As regard production, traders expect farmers to continue to
increase their production, albeit with due evaluation of the market and other competing
crop alternatives.
Sesame, Benne seed as commonly known in Nigeria is an oil seed used extensively in producing
oil and fat that is of significant traditional importance in the Asian and Middle Eastern countries
where it is used in producing tahili and many other traditional dishes. Over the past decades, this
seed has begun to gain significant importance in European countries where a blend of migration
of Asians and acceptance of oriental dishes by Europeans has propelled its use.
World Sesame Imports
The value of world imports of sesame dropped from its $3bn in 2015 to $2.5bn in 2016 due to a
drop in prices from their all time high in 2014. By imports value, China is the largest importer of
sesame with about $956m worth of imports followed by Turkey and Japan with $235m and
$205m respectively. The industry began to change in 2013/2014 when a large number of
Chinese farmers shifted away from cultivating sesame due to its strenuous nature. This made
China shift its procurement of the highly sought seed to the international sources; majorly
African Sources, hence causing uproar in the prices of the seeds from their 2012 prices.
Source: ITC Database
.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
2013 2014 2015 2016
Year
World China Turkey Japan
World Largest Importers
Prepared By
Ogunbiyi Yusuf
University of Ibadan
Sesame Market Outlook in Nigeria 2018
2. World Sesame Exports
The exports market for Sesame is dominated by African countries with a total world export value
of $2.1bn and Ethiopia leading the world exports with $411 million worth of exports. Of the top
10 exporters in the world, African countries lead with five countries making it to the top 10. This
emphasizes the importance of African countries to the world supply.
Source: ITC database
Sesame Exports in Nigeria
Sesame is a very important export commodity in Nigeria as it accounted for N 15.8bn i.e. 35.3%
of total agricultural exports in Q4, 2017 and it was the third highest exported commodity in the
same period. Traditionally, Japan has been the largest trading partner for Nigeria in the sesame
market but data from the foreign trade statistics 2017 released by NBS indicates that China is
beginning to steal some percentage of the market with N 6.3bn worth of sesame being exported
to China while Japan and Turkey had N 2.4bn and N 3.0bn respectively. This shows that the
trend is shifting but cautious conclusions are advised as this could also mean that Nigeria is
losing its market share in Japan as Burkina Faso became the leading supplier of sesame to Japan
in 2017 following a 40% drop yoy in value of supplies from Nigeria.
.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
ExportValiein'bnDollars
2013 2014 2015 2016
Year
World Ethiopia India Nigeria
World Largest Exporters
3. Source: ITC database
Outlook for 2018
Exporters involved in the exportation of Sesame in Nigeria have began to shift, albeit gradually,
this is largely possible also due to the presence of Chinese and Indian suppliers who are willing
to move into the fields, thus increasing their access to local suppliers that find it difficult to
export on their own as well as farmers that were earlier beyond their reach. Notwithstanding this
shift, large players like Olam, TGI and Dangote who are more flexible in their supplies and are
expected to have a wider reach given their financial and corporate strength. As regard
production, traders expect farmers to increase their production of the crop, with due
consideration of the market demand for the crop and other competing enterprise alternatives. The
value of overall exports is poised for continued growth, although gradual, as Nigeria recovers
from the 3 year downturn in the value of exports with a 16% yoy increase in the value of 2017
exports.
0
10
20
30
40
PercentageShare2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Import Share In Japan
Burkina Faso Nigeria
