Sesame — the oilseed flagship
Sesame anchors Kehkashan's oilseed book at single-product depth. Sortex grade 99 / 99.5 / 99.95% drives pricing tiers; FFA, moisture and admixture drive specification. Hulled white is the tahini and confectionery input; natural is the crusher input. Black sesame ships into Asian and Korean buyers.
Top buying countries
Türkiye, China and Greece are the deepest tahini and confectionery buyers in our book. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt drive Gulf re-export. Vietnam, Korea and Japan buy Sortex 99.95% for premium retail. Lebanon and Israel buy Humera-grade hulled white for tahini halva and pâte lines.
Key origin grades to know
India: Indore and Tilhan stations supply Sortex 99 to 99.95% white and black. Sudan: Humera and Gedaref hulled white. Ethiopia: Humera-grade. Nigeria, Mali, Senegal: African white. Mexico and Brazil: Latin American white. Türkiye, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan back-fill on smaller Mediterranean lots.
Logistics overview
Sesame ships from Jebel Ali in 25 kg PP bag, 50 kg jute bag or 1 MT FIBC jumbo. Lead time runs 14 to 21 days from PO confirmation. Container density at 25 metric tonnes per 20-foot full container. Cool-chain is unnecessary; standard reefer is available on request for long sea legs.
Quality assurance protocol
Every sesame lot carries a Sortex grade certificate, FFA below 2%, moisture below 6% and admixture below 0.5%. EU buyers receive a separate aflatoxin and pesticide screen against regulation 2023/915. SGS or Bureau Veritas counter-sampling is welcome at vessel loading on buyer instruction.
Sourcing mix and origin discipline
India is the year-round white sesame anchor. Sudan and Ethiopia are the Humera-grade origins for premium tahini. Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Tanzania carry African white. Mexico and Brazil ship Latin American volume into Türkiye and Greece. Multi-origin consolidation is the default on a 25 MT PO.
Pricing tiers driven by Sortex and FFA
Sesame pricing tracks Sortex grade and free fatty acid. Sortex 99% sets the volume base; 99.5% adds a 30 to 50 USD per metric tonne premium; 99.95% adds a 60 to 80 USD premium for tahini lines. Oil-grade lots price separately against the FFA-2% threshold. African Humera grade carries its own premium book.
Buyer profiles we serve
Turkish and Greek tahini lines buy Sortex 99.95% hulled white in 40-foot FCL on a 30-day rolling program. Chinese oil crushers buy natural sesame in mixed-origin loads. Korean and Japanese retailers buy black sesame in foil-pack ready format. Lebanese and Israeli halva houses run Humera-grade contracts pre-harvest.
Sample-first policy on sesame
Every new sesame programme starts with a 500 g sample courier from each candidate origin and a draft COA confirming Sortex grade, FFA, moisture and admixture. Buyers run their own optical-sorter or oil-press confirmation in parallel. Sample fees credit against the first FCL. Production confirms only after buyer sign-off on the COA.