The sesame seed price is heading for one-month gains, driving the sesame oil price up in the domestic market.
Myanmar’s sesame seeds are highly demanded by Chinese buyers and some traders who keep the stocks in hand at present. The prices stood at K280,000-K330,000 per 45-viss bag of black sesame (Samone variety), K330,000-3 68,000 per bag of white sesame and K270,000-K275,000 per bag of brown sesame on 21 July. The price skyrocketed to K320,000-400,000 for black sesame, K420,000-K440,000 for white sesame and K320,000-K350,000 for brown sesame on 21 August.
With the sesame seed price rising, the organic sesame oil price moved up to over K16,000 per viss.
Black sesame oil has a strong smell and bitter flavour. It fetches a good price on account of the highest oil yield.
There are 7.37 million acres of oil seed in the country, with an estimated yield rate of 96.22 million baskets. Sesame plantations account for 50 per cent while peanut acreage constitutes 30 per cent. Myanmar shipped over 180,000 tonnes of sesame worth US$236.33 million to foreign markets in the 2020-2021 financial year.
Oil production is estimated at 114 visses per acre of peanuts, 56 visses per acre of sesame, 67 visses per acre of sunflower and 140 visses per acre of hybrid sunflower respectively.
There are 2.8 million acres of peanut plantation (with the production of 319.2 million visses of peanut oil), 3.7 million acres of sesame (207.2 million visses of sesame oil) and 600,000 acres of sunflower (40.2 million visses of sunflower oil) in the country, totalling 7.6 million acres (566.5 visses of oil).
Sesame is primarily grown in Sagaing, Magway and Mandalay regions. There were 433,324 acres of monsoon sesame, 541,869 acres of winter sesame and 35,819 acres of summer sesame in the 2022-2023 FY in the Sagaing Region.
The sesame cultivation cost approximately K300,000 per acre in 2022, reaping a profit of K400,000. The cultivation cost doubled and the income also increased to K1 million per acre in 2023.
Rainfall deficits in June 2023 affected sesame crops in some areas. Yet, the growers receive a handsome profit from high prices, Ko Win Oo, a trader from Mahlaing Township, told the Global New Light of Myanmar. — TWA/EM
