Australia's spice industry is on the cusp of commercial production with locally grown sesame expected to hit the market by 2025.Almost all of the spices used by Australians in their cooking are imported.Led by CQ University researcher Tieneke Trotter, the team planted several crops new to Australia four years ago and narrowed it down to the best performers: black and white sesame, fennel, and kalonji — an antioxidant also known as Nigella seed.
Once Australian farmers were consistently supplying the domestic market, Mr Hunter said they could focus on exports, specifically targeting sesame-oil-producing countries Japan and Korea.Shattering versus non-shattering varieties "That's why the industry is moving towards these non-shattering lines because that actually helps to increase the harvestability of the crop," Dr Trotter said.
"There's a stigma around it being a weed, I think that's simply because it's a shattering line of sesame."Ms Gamble said it was early days, but sesame had the potential to offer growers an option to diversify, as hay and cotton were the predominant broadacre crops grown in the NT.