🏷️ 🌾 Why Sesame Seed Is Nigeria’s Hidden Goldmine

🌾 Why Sesame Seed Is Nigeria’s Hidden Goldmine

In Nigeria’s export landscape, sesame seed—often called benniseed—continues to rise as one of the country’s most valuable non-oil exports. Grown in almost 20 states, sesame has quietly become a major source of income for smallholder farmers and exporters alike. The crop thrives in Nigeria’s tropical climate, with two main production seasons—the early season (April–July) and late season (August–November)—allowing farmers in different regions to supply markets almost year-round.

This double-harvest potential not only ensures consistent export supply but also gives Nigeria an advantage in global trade, as few tropical countries can maintain such steady output without heavy irrigation or artificial inputs.

🌱 A Crop Built for Profit and Resilience

Sesame’s growing appeal lies in its high profitability and low production risk. It is drought-tolerant, can thrive on marginal soils, and requires relatively low input costs compared to crops like cocoa or cotton. Its seeds are easy to dry, transport, and store—lasting months without spoilage, which drastically reduces post-harvest losses and logistics risks.

For farmers, sesame represents a reliable income source that can complement staple food production. For investors and exporters, it offers one of the best value-to-weight ratios among agricultural commodities—meaning less volume moves more value.

Moreover, Nigerian sesame is prized internationally for its high oil content (45–55%), light color, and purity. This makes it ideal for high-end uses such as edible oils, confectionery, and tahini production.

💰 Export Potential: A Look at the Value Chain

Sesame’s profitability increases significantly with processing. While most Nigerian exports remain raw, growing interest in value addition and semi-processing has begun to create opportunities for investors in oil milling, cleaning, grading, and packaging facilities.

🌍 Nigeria’s Growing Global Footprint

Globally, Nigeria ranks second in Africa and third worldwide in sesame exports, according to Punch Newspapers. Its major trade partners—China, Japan, and Turkey—continue to expand demand, fueled by the rising global preference for plant-based proteins, natural oils, and clean-label foods.

In 2023, sesame generated over $700 million in export earnings, ranking second only to cocoa among agricultural commodities. That figure reflected steady year-on-year growth, even as global trade faced currency volatility and logistics bottlenecks.

By Q1 2025, sesame had risen to become Nigeria’s third-largest export by volume, accounting for 337,825.8 metric tonnes (4.63% of all exports), with a total value of $1.79 billion, according to preliminary BusinessDay NG data. In the first half of 2025, it also ranked fourth by value (4.23% of total exports)—a clear signal that sesame is consolidating its place as a mainstay of Nigeria’s non-oil export diversification strategy.

These achievements align with global projections that sesame trade could surpass $8 billion by the end of 2025, creating significant room for exporters who meet international quality standards.

⚙️ Government Efforts and Institutional Support

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has played a pivotal role in supporting sesame’s export growth. Through farmer sensitization exercises, distribution of improved seeds, and technical training, NEPC aims to raise productivity and ensure uniform quality across producing states such as Benue, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Kano, and Taraba.

To tackle export rejections—often caused by pesticide residue or contamination—the Council collaborates with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), NAQS, and other regulatory bodies to align local practices with European Union and Asian import standards.

In addition, NEPC continues to promote market access by featuring Nigerian sesame exporters at international trade fairs and fostering partnerships with global buyers through digital trade platforms and export financing schemes.

This combination of capacity building and compliance has positioned Nigeria as a trusted supplier in the global sesame market—one capable of scaling exports without compromising quality.

📈 Investor Outlook: Why the Timing Is Right

Beyond export earnings, sesame offers enormous potential across its value chain. Opportunities exist for:

·         Aggregation and storage hubs in producing regions

·         Processing plants for dehulling, oil extraction, and packaging

·         Export logistics and traceability technology

·         Outgrower schemes linking smallholder farmers to international buyers

For investors seeking diversified exposure in agribusiness, sesame stands out as a low-risk, high-return crop—particularly because of its resilience against climate change and its strong global demand outlook.

As Nigeria’s currency fluctuations drive renewed focus on non-oil exports, sesame’s stable pricing and global acceptance make it a hedge against domestic economic volatility.

🏭 Cardinal Torch: Quality and Capacity You Can Trust

At Cardinal Torch, we are proud to be part of Nigeria’s sesame success story. With sourcing and quality-control operations located in Kano and Benue States—two of the nation’s key sesame production and processing hubs—we ensure that every shipment meets international standards for purity, moisture, and oil content.

Our facility’s monthly capacity of up to 500 metric tonnes supports consistent supply to clients in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. We partner directly with farmer cooperatives and certified aggregators, maintaining traceability and transparency throughout the value chain.

Whether you’re sourcing raw sesame, hulled seeds, or premium sesame oil, Cardinal Torch provides the reliability and expertise you need to expand your operations in one of Africa’s most promising agricultural markets.

👉 Need a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for your sesame import? Speak to our team