Sesame seed production in China
China: Sesame seed production was 380,000 tonnes in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
380,000 tonnes
Change on year
down 16.2%
World rank
8th
of 79 countries
All-time high
895,228 tonnes
in 2002
All-time low
191,000 tonnes
in 1961
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Sesame seed production in China, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for sesame seed production in China is 380,000 tonnes, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 16.2% on the previous year and down 39.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sesame seed production in China peaked at 895,228 tonnes in 2002 and was at its lowest, 191,000 tonnes, in 1961.
China ranks 8th of 79 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Sesame seed production in China, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 191,000 tonnes | — |
| 1962 | 255,000 tonnes | +33.5% |
| 1963 | 268,000 tonnes | +5.1% |
| 1964 | 309,000 tonnes | +15.3% |
| 1965 | 256,000 tonnes | -17.2% |
| 1966 | 290,000 tonnes | +13.3% |
| 1967 | 296,000 tonnes | +2.1% |
| 1968 | 244,000 tonnes | -17.6% |
| 1969 | 256,000 tonnes | +4.9% |
| 1970 | 263,000 tonnes | +2.7% |
| 1971 | 280,000 tonnes | +6.5% |
| 1972 | 259,000 tonnes | -7.5% |
| 1973 | 257,000 tonnes | -0.8% |
| 1974 | 226,000 tonnes | -12.1% |
| 1975 | 208,000 tonnes | -8.0% |
| 1976 | 229,000 tonnes | +10.1% |
| 1977 | 241,000 tonnes | +5.2% |
| 1978 | 322,000 tonnes | +33.6% |
| 1979 | 417,000 tonnes | +29.5% |
| 1980 | 259,000 tonnes | -37.9% |
| 1981 | 510,000 tonnes | +96.9% |
| 1982 | 342,000 tonnes | -32.9% |
| 1983 | 348,650 tonnes | +1.9% |
| 1984 | 476,000 tonnes | +36.5% |
| 1985 | 691,435 tonnes | +45.3% |
| 1986 | 618,000 tonnes | -10.6% |
| 1987 | 526,000 tonnes | -14.9% |
| 1988 | 404,000 tonnes | -23.2% |
| 1989 | 337,634 tonnes | -16.4% |
| 1990 | 469,258 tonnes | +39.0% |
| 1991 | 436,000 tonnes | -7.1% |
| 1992 | 516,000 tonnes | +18.3% |
| 1993 | 563,000 tonnes | +9.1% |
| 1994 | 548,000 tonnes | -2.7% |
| 1995 | 583,000 tonnes | +6.4% |
| 1996 | 574,997 tonnes | -1.4% |
| 1997 | 566,000 tonnes | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 656,117 tonnes | +15.9% |
| 1999 | 743,000 tonnes | +13.2% |
| 2000 | 811,190 tonnes | +9.2% |
| 2001 | 804,111 tonnes | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 895,228 tonnes | +11.3% |
| 2003 | 593,000 tonnes | -33.8% |
| 2004 | 703,848 tonnes | +18.7% |
| 2005 | 625,393 tonnes | -11.1% |
| 2006 | 662,000 tonnes | +5.9% |
| 2007 | 557,224 tonnes | -15.8% |
| 2008 | 586,293 tonnes | +5.2% |
| 2009 | 621,957 tonnes | +6.1% |
| 2010 | 587,000 tonnes | -5.6% |
| 2011 | 605,000 tonnes | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 639,369 tonnes | +5.7% |
| 2013 | 623,492 tonnes | -2.5% |
| 2014 | 629,900 tonnes | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 450,000 tonnes | -28.6% |
| 2016 | 352,000 tonnes | -21.8% |
| 2017 | 366,500 tonnes | +4.1% |
| 2018 | 431,500 tonnes | +17.7% |
| 2019 | 467,000 tonnes | +8.2% |
| 2020 | 456,900 tonnes | -2.2% |
| 2021 | 455,400 tonnes | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 435,300 tonnes | -4.4% |
| 2023 | 453,400 tonnes | +4.2% |
| 2024 | 380,000 tonnes | -16.2% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 380,000 tonnes is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 12,471 tonnes, 30.5× the median. (18 countries reporting)
- China's 380,000 tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14,788 tonnes, 25.7× the median. (8 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Sesame seed production in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | +96.9% | 259,000 tonnes | 510,000 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 262,778 tonnes | 191,000 tonnes | 309,000 tonnes | 9 |
| 1970s | 270,200 tonnes | 208,000 tonnes | 417,000 tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 451,272 tonnes | 259,000 tonnes | 691,435 tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 565,537 tonnes | 436,000 tonnes | 743,000 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 686,024 tonnes | 557,224 tonnes | 895,228 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 515,176 tonnes | 352,000 tonnes | 639,369 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 436,200 tonnes | 380,000 tonnes | 456,900 tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More reference data data for China
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 49.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 75.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 303.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 18.8 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 303.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 165.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 206.2 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 350.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1,480 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 102.37 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sesame seed production in China?
- Sesame seed production in China was 380,000 tonnes in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest sesame seed production recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 895,228 tonnes in 2002.
- What is the lowest sesame seed production recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 191,000 tonnes in 1961.
- How does China rank for sesame seed production?
- China ranks 8th out of 79 countries with data for 2024.
- Is sesame seed production rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Sesame seed production. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Sesame seed production is measured in tonnes.