In the first half of January, the sesame harvest began in some plots in different parts of the country and progress is expected to reach 30% by the end of the month. From the Paraguayan Chamber of Sesame Exporters (Capexse) they indicated that a trend of 25,000 tons is expected between confectionery and mechanized varieties, taking into account that the sector suffered a sowing start with rains that washed away seeds.Gilberto Ozorio, representative of the union, told La Nación/Nación Media that compared to last year, in which around 12,000 tons were harvested, this 2023 would register a difference of 7,000 more tons based on the 90,000 hectares (ha) at the national level. country they were sown. "Compared to last year we are much better, even covering a larger area, much less was removed," he said. Likewise, he considered that the outlook is quite encouraging from the point of view of production, crop development, and later harvesting. Regarding prices, he commented that confectionery white sesame is quoted in our country at 7,000 guaraníes per kilo while black sesame at 6,000 guaraníes per farm producer. Meanwhile, the expectation of yields ranges between 700 and 800 kilograms per hectare. In 2022 the phenomenon occurred to the happiness of the farmers and possibly record prices were set in the field with average values close to G. 8,500/kg for confectionery sesame.Ozorio also clarified that the crops did not present major problems, since in January the National Service for Plant Quality and Health (Senave) reported the appearance of thrips and caterpillars in crops in the San Pedro area. "We didn't have any pest that affected it very drastically, except for some caterpillars, but very few cases and they were controllable," he added. THE MAIN CHALLENGE: THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET Gilberto Ozorio stressed that the main challenge for this period is to reach a good volume of the grain and achieve a commercial rebound internationally. “The market is interested and is active now. They are reaching out and asking for offers. So you have to take advantage of this time of commercial opening of the market, ”he added.He commented that they want to continue growing in the field, since the world consumes 5,000,000 tons of commercialization annually and Paraguay represents less than 1% in terms of productivity. "The market is compacting now, countries of the European Union are making their pertinent consultations, European countries outside the block as well, the Asian market such as Taiwan and Korea are already contacting", he assured. According to data from the Investment and Export Network (Rediex), from January to December the income of foreign currency from sesame shipments had a negative variation of 32%, with US$35,465,175 million in 2022 compared to US$52,808. .728 million in 2021.