June 24, 2025 · 5 min

What International Buyers Should Know About Nigerian Sesame Seeds

Source-backed sesame notes covering producing states, processing capacity, quality grades, packaging, testing and markets.

SesameBuyer guide

Nigeria ranks among the top global producers and exporters of sesame seeds, contributing approximately 7% of world supply with annual output of 450,000-550,000 metric tonnes. The founder source states that about 80% is exported.

Producing states

Primary producing states listed in the founder source are Bauchi, Benue, Jigawa, Kano, Kogi, Taraba, Niger, Nasarawa and Katsina. Nasarawa State is listed as contributing 58,023 tons, or 11.4%, to the 2024 harvest.

Processing method

Traditional manual processing is compared with mechanized processing. A mini mechanized thresher is listed as processing 1 ton in 9 hours with 3 persons, compared with approximately 5 days for 4 women manually.

Facility and grades

The founder source lists advanced European processing lines including Cimbria, Westrup and dual Buhler color sorters, plus air-screen machines, gravity tables and de-stoners. Quality grades include edible grade at 99.9% purity, crushing grade at 98-99%, and Nigerian Export Grade at 99%+ purity.

Export details

Sesame packaging is listed as 25 kg or 50 kg polypropylene bags and 1 MT bulk totes. The minimum order is one 20ft container. Key export markets are Asia, including China and Japan, the Middle East and Europe.

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