Chinese traders purchase sesame seeds at low price

The prices of sesame varieties which are primarily demanded by China have fallen on account of poor quality and Kyat revaluation on US dollar in recent days, said U Tin Ko Ko, Monywa Commodity Centre’s Information and Public Relations officer.
“The prices of black sesame and white sesame are on the decline. Meanwhile, the prices of brown sesame and yellow sesame are stable. At the present, Chinese traders are steadily buying sesame and green grams,” said U Tin Ko Ko.
The price of black sesame plummeted into K58,000 per basket on 25 December, indicating a drastic drop of over K20,000 per basket. Furthermore, the price of white sesame slightly slid from K45,500 to K45,000. Yellow sesame, brown sesame and red sesame are priced around K40,000, according to price data of Monywa Commodity Centre.
Both raw sesame seeds and valued-added sesame seeds are conveyed to China. When the COVID-19 cases fall and transportation barriers are eased, the sesame market will raise its head again for sure, an exporter said.
Normally, Myanmar exports about 80 per cent of sesame products to foreign markets. Myanmar’s sesame is shipped to China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, European Union countries and China (Taipei).
The EU markets prefer organic-farming sesame seeds from Myanmar. Japan prefers Myanmar black sesame seeds, cultivated under good agricultural practices (GAP), and purchases them after a quality assessment. At the present time, the country is relying solely on the Chinese market and facing a hurdle to place the sesame on other foreign countries.
Sesame is cultivated in the country throughout the year. Magway Region, which has gained a reputation as the oil pot of Myanmar, is the main producer of sesame seeds. The seeds are also grown in Mandalay and Sagaing regions.
Of the cooking oil crops grown in Myanmar, the acreage under sesame seed is the highest, accounting for 51.3 per cent of the overall oil crop plantation. About 600,000-800,000 tonnes of sesame seeds are yearly produced.—KK, Lu Lay/GNLM