SHANGHAI, March 13 (Xinhua) -- As of March 3, Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Port had seen a total of 1,845 tonnes of sesame imported from Africa this year, marking a year-on-year increase of 4.3 times, according to the Shanghai Customs on Monday.

China is currently the largest import market for African sesame, with Waigaoqiao serving as the main port of entry into Shanghai. During the first two months of this year, sesame imports mainly came from Mali, Togo, Mozambique, Niger, and Tanzania.

Wu Zhigang, who owns a grain and oil enterprise located in the city of Kunshan, east China's Jiangsu Province, said that due to their high quality and low price, African sesame imports are mainly used to extract edible oil. With a growing demand for sesame oil products in the Chinese market, Wu's company plans to import more than 10,000 tonnes of African sesame this year, up from over 3,000 tonnes last year.

Statistics from Shanghai Customs show that in the first two months of this year, Shanghai ports imported more than 40,000 tonnes of African agricultural products, including sesame, worth more than 100 million U.S. dollars.