[Global Times reporter Ni Hao and Zhao Juejuan] Radio France Internationale recently reported that due to the ongoing domestic armed conflict, sesame exports from several African agricultural exporting countries such as Ethiopia may be affected. And China, as the world's main buyer of sesame, may face a shortage of sesame supply. A reporter from the Global Times recently interviewed a number of sesame traders in China to investigate the current supply of sesame in China. Statistics from the China National Grain and Oil Information Center show that sesame is the fourth largest imported edible oilseed variety in China. In 2020, China imported 1.016 million tons of sesame seeds, an increase of 200,000 tons over the previous year, while the domestic output that year was only 450,000 tons. Data shows that China's sesame purchases account for 50% of the world's purchases, 90% of which come from Africa. Sudan, Niger, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Togo are China's top five sources of imports. 90% of China's imported sesame is imported through Qingdao Port in Shandong, and there are a large number of sesame importers and production and processing enterprises in the vicinity of Qingdao. A staff member of Shandong Xinghao sesame oil company told the Global Times reporter that during the Spring Festival this year, the demand for sesame oil across the country increased rapidly, so all relevant oil and food production enterprises will increase the purchase of sesame oil. "During the Spring Festival, the sales volume of sesame oil is one month. It can last for several months.” Tang Min, a Chinese businessman who imports sesame from Africa, has no sesame in stock at present. She told the Global Times reporter that the next round of supply will not be available until June, when African sesame seeds begin to mature. The production of sesame seeds in Africa has been increasing over the course of the century due to a surge in demand from China. A Chinese businessman who has been in Africa for many years told the Global Times reporter that the African continent has abundant sunshine and suitable soil, and the production of sesame is directly linked to the local geographical environment. Many African sesame suppliers are themselves major agricultural countries.Tang Min told the "Global Times" reporter that in order to increase sesame exports to China, some African countries have also formulated relevant subsidy policies. "China is a big sesame consumer, and its import volume is large and stable, so Africa has anchored the Chinese market and actively planted it." He Dongping, chairman of the Oils and Oils Branch of the China Cereals and Oils Association and a professor at Wuhan University of Light Industry, told the Global Times reporter that the overall oil and fat gap rate in China has reached 70%. As a small variety of oil, sesame is currently mainly imported. He Dongping said that China's land is mainly used to grow food crops to ensure food safety, and the land area for oil crops is seriously insufficient. He told reporters that Henan is the largest province of sesame seeds in China, followed by Anhui, Hebei and Hubei. "Sesame planting is not like soybeans, which are subsidized by the state. Farmers are not very motivated in planting, and the planting area cannot be guaranteed." He Dongping said that there are very few places to plant sesame with particularly good arable land. "We usually find it in the fields. Its shadow, but sesame is an essential raw material in Chinese food." So will there be a shortage of sesame seeds in China? He Dongping told the "Global Times" reporter that it is currently difficult to use sufficient land to grow sesame seeds in China, but the relationship between supply and demand is reflected in the international price of sesame seeds, which can regulate global production and supply. As demand in China increases, international prices will rise, which will stimulate the enthusiasm of sesame-producing countries for planting. "Under the market expectation of China's large and stable sesame imports, these countries will maintain the planting area of sesame, and sesame oil is used as a seasoning oil, and the overall demand for sesame oil is not large for households. From this point of view, China's sesame oil There will be no shortage. It will have little impact." He Dongping said.