Sesame in the World: a brief introduction and statistics
Sesame, or sesame, is native to the savannah region of sub-Saharan Africa and probably originated in eastern Sudan. Sesame is mainly cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions (preferably 25o north and south latitude) and requires approximately 625-1100 mm of rain per year. To achieve maximum yield, the sesame plant needs a temperature of 24-32 C throughout the growing season. Rich, fertile soil is best suited for growth. According to FAO (2019), world sesame production exceeded 5.5 million tons in 2017, of which approximately 57% was produced in Africa and 40% in Asia. An industry report (Mordor Intelligence, 2019) indicated that the global market value of sesame was approximately US$6.5 billion in 2018 and followed a positive trend of increasing value with increasing demand as consumption patterns changed along with consumer health awareness.