Chad sesame: the world's 10th exporter, and how to buy its crop

Sesame has become Chad's second or third source of foreign exchange, just after oil. With 103,000 tonnes exported in 2024, the country is the world's 10th largest sesame exporter, according to a European Union brief published in June 2026. For an importer looking for an origin beyond Sudan, Nigeria or Burkina Faso, Chad deserves a look, provided you understand how it works.

The figures

Production. According to Chad's Ministry of Agricultural Production and Transformation, output exceeded 170,000 tonnes in 2023, against less than 120,000 tonnes five years earlier. The EU brief puts adjusted 2024 production at about 168,000 tonnes, grown on more than 300,000 hectares.

Exports. About 62% of the crop is officially exported, and about 15% crosses the borders into Nigeria and Sudan without being recorded. The sector earns more than 60 billion CFA francs a year, according to Alwihda Info.

Destinations. Turkey buys about 88% of official exports, the European Union about 7%. In 2024, Turkey's imports from Chad reached 181.7 million dollars, according to United Nations data.

Regions. Sesame is grown mainly in Guéra, Salamat, Mayo-Kebbi Est, Logone Oriental and Batha. Sorting, storage and export warehouses are in N'Djamena, Moundou and Abéché.

What price?

Chad does not publish a floor price, unlike Burkina Faso, where a kilo is set at 535 CFA francs at the farm gate for 2025-2026. Prices swing widely from one season to the next, and a well-sold hectare earns the grower 250,000 to 600,000 CFA francs, according to Alwihda Info.

For a buyer, the reference is the Turkish market: in 2024, the average price of sesame imported by Turkey, all origins combined, was 1,862 dollars a tonne, down 2.4% on the year, according to IndexBox. An offer far from that level, in either direction, deserves a question.

Be wary of fixed prices posted on online marketplaces with no specification and no verifiable company name. A serious price comes against a written specification, a quantity, a shipment period and an incoterm.

The route: Douala, and sometimes Sudan

Chad has no coastline. Its sesame leaves mainly through the port of Douala in Cameroon, by road, or by road to Ngaoundéré and then Camrail's railway to Douala. Two risks to plan for:

• Rural roads. In Moundou, trucks have sometimes been stuck for several days on degraded roads, Alwihda Info reports.
• The port. From 1 January to 18 February 2026, the scanner at the port of Douala was blocked, which weighed on prices in Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic, according to the BEAC as cited by Financial Afrik.

In the east, part of the crop goes to Sudan through largely informal channels.

Quality: what to write into the contract

Chad exports almost only raw sesame: with no local plants, very little is processed in the country. Post-harvest losses remain high for lack of proper storage. The contract therefore has to spell everything out:

1. The target quality: white or mixed sesame, and the purity, for example 99.95% or 99.98%.
2. Moisture, acidity and oil content, with the test method.
3. Impurities: foreign seeds, stones, sand.
4. Contaminants: pesticide residues and microbiological contamination, which Europe has checked closely since the 2020 ethylene oxide recalls.
5. Packing: new 25 or 50 kg bags, and the markings.
6. Documents: phytosanitary certificate, certificate of origin, inspection report.

How to buy safely

Check the supplier. Trade register, tax number, warehouse address, references for past exports. A company whose website is a few days old and that leaves no public trace calls for more caution, not less.

Inspect before paying the balance. A sample drawn by an independent inspector, SGS or Bureau Veritas, from the actual lot, at the warehouse or at loading, and tested against the contract specification.

Pay against documents. A sight letter of credit, payable against the bill of lading, the phytosanitary certificate and the inspection report. Never a large advance to a supplier nobody has seen.

Allow for the road. Between a warehouse in N'Djamena or Moundou and the quay at Douala, count the road, the port, and a margin for the unexpected.

Ask for a Chadian sesame offer on WhatsApp

Our reading

Chad is a serious and under-used origin: an export volume in the big league, solid Turkish demand, and production up more than 40% in five years. Its weaknesses are known: sesame sold raw, hard roads, a single port and informal channels. For a buyer, it is an opportunity, provided you buy on specification, inspect on site and pay against documents. The European Union is also assessing, under its Global Gateway strategy, whether the sector could attract European investment.

Frequently asked questions

How much sesame does Chad export?

About 103,000 tonnes in 2024, making it the world's 10th largest exporter, according to a European Union brief of June 2026. Turkey buys about 88% of it.

What is the price of Chadian sesame?

Chad sets no floor price. For reference, Turkey, the main buyer, paid an average of 1,862 dollars a tonne for its sesame imports in 2024, all origins combined.

Which port does Chadian sesame ship from?

Mainly Douala in Cameroon, by road, or by road and Camrail's railway from Ngaoundéré.

Where is sesame grown in Chad?

In Guéra, Salamat, Mayo-Kebbi Est, Logone Oriental and Batha, on more than 300,000 hectares.

What we do

GraceRoad buys sesame for its clients in Chad, Burkina Faso and the wider region on a written mandate: we identify growers and exporters, check them on the ground, obtain prices against your specification, have every lot inspected by an independent body and arrange transport to the port. Each assignment starts with a fixed sourcing fee, quoted before any work begins.

Ask for an offer on WhatsApp or see our sourcing service.

Read also: Burkina Faso sesame: price and export and sourcing commodities from Africa.

Sources: VCA4D, European Union, brief no. 60, June 2026 (103,000 tonnes exported in 2024, 10th largest exporter, 88% to Turkey, 7% to the European Union, second or third source of foreign exchange, adjusted production of about 168,000 tonnes, 62% officially exported, 15% to Nigeria and Sudan unrecorded, Global Gateway); Alwihda Info, 10 November 2025 (2023 production according to the ministry, more than 300,000 hectares, regions, warehouses, revenue, income per hectare, raw exports, losses, roads); United Nations COMTRADE database, via Trading Economics (Turkish imports from Chad in 2024); IndexBox (average price of Turkish sesame imports in 2024); Financial Afrik, 17 July 2026, citing the BEAC (Douala port scanner blockage); Agence Ecofin and Horonya Finance (Burkina Faso floor price).