The foreign exchange earnings from Sesame seed being the Nigeria leading agricultural products export surged up by N11.7 billion in the Q4, 2020, representing an increase of 75% when compared with the previous quarter as revealed by report on Foreign Trade Statistics released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and made available to MSMEsToday.
According to the report, sesame seed as the leading agricultural product export in 2020, accounted for 48.92% or N27.29 billion of the total agricultural products exported in Q4, 2020 which was valued at N55.78 billion. It is also responsible for 4.64% of the total traded agricultural products, which was valued at N588.2billion (Export and import value).
MSMEsToday finding from NBS report, shows that, a total of N107.8 billion was realized as foreign exchange from the exportation of sesame seed in 2020, with more than 45% of the earnings achieved in the Q1, 2020 valued at N49.1 billion. This value fell by 67.8% from N49.1 billion in Q1, 2020 to N15.8 billion in Q2 and also fell by 1.3% to N15.6 billion in Q3, 2020. In Q4, 2020, the foreign exchange earnings from sesame seed increased by N11.7 billion or 75% to N27.3 billion. The increase recorded in the value of sesame seed export, was attributed to improvement in the national economy despite the Covid-19 pandemic, insecurity in the country among other factors.
Further analysis shows that, the country’s earnings from sesame seeds in Q4, 2020 came mainly from five destinations, namely, Japan, China, Turkey, Vietnam and United Arab Emirates. China alone was responsible for 66.30% of the total value of sesame seed exported during the period under review. The country realized N18.1 billion from China, which is four times higher than N4.7 billion realized in the previous quarter. On the other hand, the value realized from Japan fell by 25% from N5.3 billion in the Q3, 2020 to N4.0 billion in the Q4, 2020. Turkey occupied the third place with foreign exchange earned valued at N2.01 billion. Vietnam and UAE were responsible for N1.51 billion and N0.28 billion respectively of the total value of sesame seeds earnings during the period under review. Nigeria obtained tangible foreign exchange earnings in Q1, 2020 from all the destinations considered. However, sesame seeds earnings from all the destinations dropped drastically in Q2, 2020 while in the Q3, 2020, only the foreign exchange earnings from Japan and China increased compared to Q2, 2020 earnings.
Findings show that sesame seeds are abundant in multiple local large markets mostly located in Northern Nigeria. The mere fact that it is rarely consumed or used in Nigeria, makes the sesame seeds export from the country potential large since the world’s demand for sesame seeds keeps growing at a rate of over 4% yearly. This implies that over 95% of the all sesame seeds produced in the country are exported as either hulled or un- hulled sesame seeds.
The country remains one of the largest producers of sesame seed; with ten states (North and Central Nigeria) involved in production making Nigeria, 7th largest producer of sesame seeds worldwide. Sustainable supply can therefore be guaranteed throughout the year. Sesame production is projected to growth with about 6% annually in the coming years. The country also has the capacity to produce and harvest twice in a planting season. This relatively long producing season in combination with good storage and warehousing facilities makes sesame available for exports all year around.
With abundant local availability of Sesame Seeds in Nigeria and a great global demand for Sesame Seeds from Sesame Seeds buyers in Japan, China, Turkey, India, Vietnam, Netherlands, Germany, Greece, France, Poland, and much more places around the world, venturing in the Sesame Seeds export business by prospective and current Sesame Seeds exporters in Nigeria can be a great way to venture into the export of Sesame Seeds from Nigeria.
