Sasouma — Sesame Grading and Nutrition | sasouma.com

Sasouma — Sesame Grading and Nutrition | sasouma.com

Where Sesame Comes From

India, Myanmar and Sudan together accounted for 33% of world sesame production, and sesame plus niger seed and soybeans make up about 20% of Ethiopia's export earnings.

World sesame production is concentrated enough that three countries — India, Myanmar and Sudan — together accounted for 33% of the total. The remaining two-thirds is spread across many origins, so no single origin dominates the trade.

On the export side, sesame is one leg of a three-crop group: sesame, niger seed and soybeans together make up about 20% of Ethiopia's export earnings. That share is what makes sesame a line item in national trade figures rather than only an agricultural crop.

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The oil-versus-protein trade-off runs through both the grading and the nutrition sides of the subject. Sesame has one of the highest oil contents of any seed, and its oil content rises with a longer photoperiod; against that, the seed carries 17 g of protein per 100 grams alongside 49 g of fat.

For a grader, the production picture matters because the 40% oil floor has to be met lot by lot, not by origin reputation. A top-three origin still has to clear the oil test, the 6% moisture ceiling and the size-and-colour sort.

Read together with the nutrition table, these shares explain why the per-100-gram figures are quoted on a fixed basis: with production spread across many origins, a single reference weight is the only way to compare lots.

  • India, Myanmar and Sudan: 33% of world production
  • Sesame, niger seed and soybeans: about 20% of Ethiopia's export earnings
  • Oil content rises with a longer photoperiod
  • Protein: 17 g per 100 g against 49 g fat

Further reading