Description

Sesame seeds (or sesamum or benniseed) are the seeds of the tropical annual Sesamum indicum. The species has a long history of cultivation, mostly for its yield of oil.

Based on their colour difference, sesame seed in Nigeria can be classified into two (2) types namely the white/raw and black/mixed.

The white varieties are usually regarded as the food grade and used in the bakery industry while the black varieties are referred to as oil grade and used in the production of sesame oil.

The White (Food Grade) seed is grown around the towns of Keffi, Lafia/Makurdi, Doma, and in Nassarawa, Taraba, and Benue States.

The demand market for sesame seed can be classified into two (2) broad groups namely that who import because of the high-quality oil extractable from the seed and those who buy for non-oil use.

Oil based importers are mostly in Asia and includes countries like Japan and Korea. The national requirement for sesame seed in Japan is estimated at over two hundred thousand (200,000) MT. With national requirement of over sixty thousand (60,000) MT the US market is mixture of oil and non-oil market.

Sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum) are grown primarily for their oil content. The European market primarily uses sesame seeds for toppings on bakery products such as bread, bagels, hamburger buns and confectionery (sweets). Sesame seeds are also used in snacks, salads (seed, dressings and sauces) and crackers, often in the form of sesame sticks.

Restaurants and natural food consumers also purchase sesame seeds for use in food from various cuisines products like tahini and hummus, sushi and Eastern dessert.

Imports of sesame seed into the European Union (EU) have grown over the 1990s and the market now imports in excess of one hundred thousand (100,000) MT annually.

Germany is the main importer of sesame seeds in 2017, reaching twenty-one percent (21%) of the imported volume in Europe (thirty-three thousand tonnes, at €48 million). In Germany, sesame seeds are used in many different bread types or as toppings on several snacks (such as pretzels) and pastries. Germany has a large bakery and confectionery sector.

These two (2) sectors account for around twenty percent (20%) of Germany’s total food and beverage industry production. The country is also an important trade hub for sesame seeds in Europe, second only to the Netherlands.

In 2017, Greece’s sesame seed imports amounted to thirty-one thousand (31,000) tonnes (€37 million), having had an annual decrease of six percent (6%) in volume since 2013. Sesame seeds are a popular ingredient in traditional Greek cuisine; they are used in spreads such as tahini and halva as well as in bakery and confectionery products. The sesame industry in Greece withstood the economic crisis, but financial checks are advisable when selecting your buyer.

The Netherlands was the third largest European importer of sesame seeds in 2017. Imports amounted to twenty-four thousand (24,000) tonnes (€34 million), and annually decreased in volume by one percent (1%) since 2013.

Sesame seeds are supplied by countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. There are different types and qualities of sesame seeds. White seeds are a white-to-golden colour and receive a higher market price than mixed seeds, which range from yellow to dark brown.

White seeds are used primarily in natural or hulled form because of their aesthetic value, whereas mixed seeds are generally crushed into oil.

Black sesame seeds are an excellent source of magnesium and calcium and serve very well for non-dairy milk powders and other premium applications. The black seed is smaller than the white seed.

Nigeria is the largest producer of sesame seeds in Africa, and the third largest in the world, with about five hundred and eighty thousand (580,000) tonnes produced in 2017. Ninety percent (90%) of sesame seeds produced in Nigeria are exported.

Some of the leading sesame seed supplying nation includes Sudan, Pakistan, India, China, Myanmar, Tanzania, Mexico, Guatemala, Ethiopa and Venezuela.

Nigeria exports to China, Turkey, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea. Nigeria has only three (3) functional processing plants for sesame seeds (two in Kano and one in Lagos). Aggregate processing capacity of the three plants is three hundred (300) tonnes, with each producing one hundred (100) tonnes.

The poor number of functional processing plants has affected the quality of the seeds, as most seeds are processed manually. For a country that produces over one thousand, two hundred (1,200) tonnes per day, manual sorting and processing of these seeds are inefficient. It has also affected the pricing of the two variants.