If you’ve ever bought sesame seeds or eaten them, they were likely imported. An Australian growers hub is changing that

When you pick up a sesame seed product in an Australian supermarket, there’s a near 100-per-cent chance it has been grown overseas.

Used in oil, tahini, hummus and sprinkled on buns, Aussies love this nutritionally dense seed, but it is not grown here on a commercial scale despite the climate being perfect for it.

A $2 million Sesame Central Research and Innovation Hub, which opened this week in central Queensland, aims to change this.

Farmer Peter Foxwell is one of the few who has been experimenting with sesame seeds, and rotates the crop with cotton and grain at his Alton Downs property near Rockhampton.

He has welcomed the research hub, and said one of the biggest barriers to growing sesame had been the fragility of the seeds.

“We started with a shattering variety, the seed and oil quality was really good but we’ve currently moved into non shattering varieties from overseas,” he said.

“The non-shattering line will get a higher per cent of seed.”

The shattering variety has been problematic for growers, because it’s too fragile to be harvested mechanically, making it impractical.

Overseas, sesame seeds are usually harvested by hand.

Investment in industry

In addition to the best varieties for Australian farmers, Central Queensland University researchers will look at crop agronomy for maximum yield, customising machinery for planting and harvesting, and post-harvest processing.

Chair of the newly formed Australian Sesame Industry Development Association Daniel Weinstock  hoped the hub would go some way to replacing reliance on international imports.

“We hope to have the first commercial crops growing by the end of the next financial year,” Mr Weinstock said.

“We’re looking at growing sesame in Australia to replace international imports and create a product to be exported overseas.

He said the warm, dry climate in Australia and in particular Queensland, was well suited to growing sesame seeds and it works well in rotation with cotton and grain.

Sesame seed production was valued at up to $2,000 a tonne at farmgate last year, and Australia imported 13,000 tonnes of the product.

AgriFutures Australia has partnered with the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) and Central Queensland University to operate the hub which will support the emerging industry.

Emerging Industries senior program manager at AgriFutures Olivia Reynolds, said the hub would play an important role in helping more farmers to sustainably grow the product along with current crops.

“Sesame is an attractive commercial proposition for growers, so it’s essential that they have the tools and information available to capitalise on this production opportunity,” Dr Reynolds said.