What sets the price of sesame seed.

Is there one world price for sesame?

No. Sesame trades on private contracts, origin by origin and grade by grade. A price means something only with its basis attached: the grade and specification, the Incoterm (FOB Lagos is a different number from CIF Qingdao), the shipment period, and the currency. Two quotations that differ on any of those are not comparable, which is why a figure lifted from a website, ours included, is not a price you can buy at.

How does quality change the price?

The contract specification settles the price. Purity and admixture, oil content, free fatty acids and moisture each move what a buyer will pay, because each changes what the buyer gets out of the seed: saleable seed after cleaning, oil after crushing, or a colour that passes a food plant's inspection.

Exchanges make the mechanism explicit. India's NCDEX, in the specification applying to its natural whitish sesame futures contracts expiring from June 2023, sets limits of 1% admixture, 1.5% FFA, 6% moisture and 48% minimum oil content. For other-coloured seed it sets a 2% basis, accepts 2% to 4% at a one-for-one discount and above 4% to 5% at a two-for-one discount, and rejects anything above 5%. Physical contracts work the same way: the specification, not the headline, decides the settled price.

Why do harvests move the price?

Sesame is largely a rain-fed crop, so weather sets the size of each crop. FAO's assessment of Sudan, for example, says rain-fed sectors make up about 95% of planted area and record wide annual fluctuations because of erratic rainfall.

The origins also harvest at different times, so the market is fed by a sequence of new crops rather than one. FAO's crop calendar puts the Sudanese harvest at September to October, Ethiopia's semi-arid harvest at October to November, Pakistan's at mid-October to mid-November, and Tanzania's across February to August depending on zone. In Nigeria, the first new-crop lots reach aggregation markets in late November; our season calendar covers it.

Farmers also respond to price. FAO recorded Sudanese farmers planting more sesame when prices and export demand were strong, and switching to sorghum after low prices, before conflict cut the crop further. Last season's price is one of the inputs to this season's supply.

How much does China matter?

More than any other buyer. By our calculation from countries' import reports to UN Comtrade under HS 1207.40, China took about 47% of reported world sesame imports by weight in 2024, and about 41% in 2023. When Chinese demand or Chinese port stocks change, every origin feels it.

How do tariffs and quotas affect sesame prices?

Import regimes decide which origin is competitive where, so a change in one moves trade flows and prices.

• —China: from 1 December 2024 China applies a zero tariff to all tariff lines from the least developed countries it has diplomatic relations with, and from 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2028 a zero tariff for 20 African countries that are not least developed countries. Nigerian sesame (12074090) appears in the second measure's annex at a 0% preferential rate to 30 April 2028. The rate must be claimed with proof of origin, and it does not change China's registration requirements; our Decree 280 guide sets out the detail.
• —South Korea: sesame is imported under a tariff-rate quota at 40%, against an out-of-quota tariff of 630% or KRW 6,660 per kg, whichever is higher. aT, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, imports as the designated agency and auctions import rights, so much of Korea's demand is priced through aT tenders. Our Korea guide covers the detail.
• —India: sesame carries a 30% basic customs duty, but much imported seed enters duty-free under Advance Authorisation for hulling and re-export. Our India guide explains how that shapes what Indian buyers pay for.
• —EU: import checks under Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 add certificate, sampling and inspection cost to origins listed in its annexes, Nigeria and India included.

Does currency move the sesame price?

It changes what a price means. International sesame trades in US dollars while farmers are paid in local currency, so a move in the exchange rate can shift an origin's competitiveness without the dollar price changing. FAO warns the reverse for anyone reading price series: with a depreciating currency, prices rising in local terms can appear to fall in dollar terms. The IMF's July 2025 Article IV report on Nigeria says that maintaining the now-flexible exchange rate, alongside trade and competition reforms, should support non-oil export competitiveness; it does not single out sesame, and neither do we.

Where can I check sesame prices from an official source?

These publish price or value data you can check yourself. None of them is a price for our seed.

Why don't we publish a price?

Because a sesame price without its specification, basis, shipment period and date is not a price, and a stale one on a website is worse than none. We quote against the specification you buy to, on the Incoterm you name, and we date it. Send us your specification and destination and you will have a dated offer within 48 hours.

How current is this page?

Checked on 28 September 2026. NCDEX terms are from its published contract specification; FAO facts from its crop calendar and its Sudan crop assessments of 2019 and 2023; China's import share is our own calculation from reporter data in UN Comtrade and may shift as late reporters file; China's tariff measures from the State Council Tariff Commission announcements No. 9 of 2024 and No. 5 of 2026; Korea's quota regime from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' TRQ management plan for 2026; the currency points from FAO's price monitoring notes and the IMF's July 2025 Article IV report on Nigeria.