The prospect of developing sesame industry in Northern Australia through analysing market opportunity

Sesame is an ancient oilseed crop mainly grown in tropical and subtropical regions. Historically, most sesame production was concentrated to tropical and sub-tropical Asian countries, but recently the production has been shifting from Asia to African countries because of increasing global demand. There is a further possibility of shifting the production in Northern Australia because of land availability and favourable climatic conditions. Australia imports 90 per cent of sesame consumed. There is potential for import substitution and development of export markets by producing sesame in the vast tropical and subtropical regions of Northern Australia. This paper aims to identify the prospect of developing sesame industry in Northern Australia by analysing global supply and demand and market opportunities. This research utilised a mixed methodology consisting of a quantitative analysis of global demand prediction and a critical review of literature and information to identify potential market opportunities. This study predicted that global production of sesame would be increased by 67 per cent by the year 2040, while the demand could double over the same period leading to a higher price for sesame. This study identified sesame as a high-value crop compared to the crops that are currently grown in Northern Australia. In addition, Northern Australia is close to international markets and has the capability of commercial-scale production and processing of sesame due to the access to suitable land and availability of genetically adapted and drought-tolerant crops for rainfed production. The regional economy of Northern Australia would be better off by commercial production of sesame considering high global demand and high international market price.