The total global production of sesame seed sums up to around 30 lakh tons annually, China being the highest seed producer. The production of the seeds is somewhat concentrated in the Asian and African continents and the topmost five countries indulged in the production of sesame accounts for the majority of share in the total production. The production as well as consumption of sesame seeds has been in the up trend since the last decade and both the figures are rising steadily.
World trade figures in sesame seeds are 5 to 6 lakh tons annually. As already mentioned that the production of this condiment is concentrated in a few countries, it has resulted in for the concentrated exports also. Only the major producing countries dominate sesame seed exports and the major exporters are listed below
A large number of countries import sesame seeds to fulfill their domestic consumption demand. Japan leads the list with an importing figure of around 165000 tons of seeds every year followed by Egypt with around 86000 tons. The list of the major sesame importing nations is