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Press release…
Record hike of 195 percent in sesame exports!
Sesame, which adds flavour to a wide range of food products from Turkish bagels to chicken dishes, salads to breads, tahini to pastries, cookies to Ramadan pita bread, stands out as an important export item for Türkiye.
Türkiye ramped up its sesame exports from 77 million dollars in 2022 to 124.5 million dollars in 2023 with an increase of 62 percent. Türkiye’s new target in sesame exports is to reach 250 million dollars.
Stating that sesame adds a distinct aroma and flavour to the taste of all the foods it enters, Muhammet Öztürk, Head of the Aegean Cereals, Pulses, Oil Seeds and Products Exporters’ Association, shared the information that the country’s sesame exports soared by 195 percent in the January-February period of 2024 from 6 million 645 thousand dollars to 19 million 632 thousand dollars.
Explaining that the sesame grown in the country is very high quality, Öztürk says, “The biggest importer of sesame is China with 1.6 billion dollars. Since our sesame is of high quality, its unit price is 2.4 dollars. China, on the other hand, imports in the 1.5 dollar band. Japan and European countries, which are a selective market, buy our quality sesame. In the January-February period of 2024, Türkiye’s sesame exports to Japan jumped by 170 percent compared to the same period last year, from 660 thousand dollars to 1.7 million dollars.”
“As Türkiye, we are the world’s second largest importer of sesame. We shape the world sesame trade. In 2024, we expect our sesame exports to reach 250 million dollars,” he adds…
