Cheaper Chinese sesame and a tighter Pakistan crop: what it changes for Nigerian and Ghanaian offers
By Sandra Nansbuga
Cheaper Chinese sesame and a tighter Pakistan crop: what it changes for Nigerian and Ghanaian offers
On 30 October 2026, Commodity Board Europe reported that China's average sesame import price fell 17 per cent year on year to about US$1,161 a tonne in January to August 2026, while its intake from Niger and Togo fell by roughly a fifth. Nigerian and Ghanaian exporters are pricing natural (raw) seed into a lower floor as a short Pakistani crop lifts hulled seed.
What did the October trade data show?
China's tonnage barely moved while its spending fell. Imports reached about 918,728 tonnes, down 1.3 per cent, but the bill dropped 18 per cent to about US$1.07 billion as the average price slid from US$1,395 to US$1,161, according to Commodity Board Europe. Niger stayed the largest supplier at 304,558 tonnes, but Pakistani shipments more than doubled while inflows from Niger and Togo fell by roughly a fifth.
India shows the squeeze from the other side. Exports fell about 23 per cent to 158,776 tonnes in January to August 2026 and earnings dropped 25 per cent, with August shipments down 41 per cent at 16,820 tonnes.
Why does a short Pakistani crop not lift Lagos or Tema?
Pakistan's 2026/27 crop is put at only 250,000 to 280,000 tonnes after a roughly 30 per cent cut in area and adverse weather, holding natural sesame above US$1,300 a tonne and hulled 99.97 per cent near US$1,875 a tonne FOB. The catch is specification. That scarcity sits in hulled, high-purity material, a processed grade quoted from Pakistan, while Nigeria's offer, as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council describes it, is raw seed at 45 per cent minimum oil. A buyer short of 99.97 per cent hulled cannot swap in natural (raw) seed without reformulating, so the shortfall supports processors before it supports Lagos.
Which specification is winning orders now?
Compliance, not purity alone. The EU registered 60 sesame rejections between 1 January and 26 October 2026, led by Nigeria with 31 cases, then India with 14 and Sudan with 13, mostly for Salmonella, pesticide residues and documentation gaps. Uganda opened a certification academy in Kampala on 29 October 2026 with coffee first, as Fluna set out.
The offsetting signal is American. US imports reached about 22,164 tonnes in January to August 2026 at an average price down 14 per cent to around US$1,927 a tonne, and India has ceded share to Guatemala, Pakistan and Nigeria, Commodity Board Europe reported on 6 November 2026.
Ghana's constraint is upstream. It has no released improved sesame variety, with three CSIR-SARI lines due before the national release committee in 2027, as Fluna reported on 4 November 2026.
What this means for buyers
Price West African natural (raw) seed off two anchors. China's US$1,161 average is what a trader will be shown; the US average near US$1,927 is what a compliant lot can reach, and the gap is the compliance record. An origin carrying 31 of 60 EU rejections should have testing costed in, not assumed away at signing.
Timing has split too. Buyers of 99.95 to 99.98 per cent hulled EU-grade are advised to secure fourth and first quarter volumes early, while Chinese port stocks of about 414,844 tonnes in week 43 let crushers buy West African seed slowly.
Financing is moving as well. On 9 November 2026 the Daily Trust reported that Rio Kavanagh Holdings is committing £1.2 million to Nigerian cocoa and sesame supply chains through the Lekki and Apapa corridors, targeting a combined 350 tonnes of the two by March 2027 against warehouse receipts.
FAQ
Q: Is Chinese demand for sesame actually falling?
A: Volume fell only 1.3 per cent to about 918,728 tonnes in January to August 2026; spending fell 18 per cent because of price, not lost buyers.
Q: Should a Nigerian offer be priced against Pakistan's hulled quote?
A: No. Hulled 99.97 per cent is a processed grade, while Nigerian raw seed at 45 per cent minimum oil competes with natural (raw) seed.
Q: What is stopping Nigerian sesame in the EU?
A: Nigeria accounted for 31 of the 60 EU sesame rejections registered to 26 October 2026, mostly Salmonella, residues and documentation.
Sources: Commodity Board Europe | Nigerian Export Promotion Council | Commodity Board Europe | Daily Trust