This year, my country's sesame imports are unlikely to continue the surge seen last year, and the total import volume for the year may return to a reasonable range of around 1 million tons. According to a reporter from the Grain and Oil Market News, last year my country's sesame trade steadily established an import layout of "Africa as the mainstay, South America as a supplement, and Asia as a synergy," and the construction of a diversified sesame import supply system has been accelerated and further improved. In his speech, Cao Derong pointed out that sesame is a key specialty oilseed crop in my country. With the continuous upgrading of residents' consumption, domestic demand for sesame has steadily increased, and annual sesame imports have remained stable at the million-ton level in recent years. In 2025, major sesame-producing regions worldwide enjoyed a bumper harvest, resulting in ample international sesame supply and a 15.3% year-on-year decrease in the average import price, directly driving a significant increase in import volume. Data shows that my country's sesame imports reached 1.46 million tons in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 23.5%, setting a new historical record. Entering the first quarter of 2026, domestic sesame imports reached 284,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 29.4%; the import value was US$329 million, a year-on-year decrease of 41.9%. Based on comprehensive industry forecasts, my country's sesame imports this year are unlikely to continue last year's surge, and the total annual import volume may return to a reasonable range of around 1 million tons. In his address, Ethiopia expressed confidence in the prospects for oilseed trade cooperation between Ethiopia and China. He stated that Ethiopian oilseeds and soybean products have enormous market potential in China, and its sesame export business reaches many countries globally, with raw sesame being a core export category. In the 2025/26 crop year, Ethiopia's sesame production exceeded 476,000 tons, with China consistently remaining its largest sesame export market. Currently, there is significant room for growth in Ethiopia's sesame industry; upgrading planting techniques and increasing agricultural inputs can effectively improve yield per acre, further strengthening its export supply capacity to China. This conference featured keynote speeches, roundtable discussions, and other diverse sessions. Leading experts and scholars from home and abroad engaged in in-depth exchanges on core topics such as global sesame production and sales trends, changes in the domestic consumer market, and pain points in industry development, sharing cutting-edge perspectives and analysis findings. He Qin, Senior Consultant for Sesame Products at the China Chamber of Commerce for Foodstuffs and Native Produce, provides an in-depth analysis of the domestic sesame import situation in 2026 and makes trend predictions. In the short term, the fundamental oversupply of sesame globally has not fundamentally changed. The ongoing conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran continues to impact commodities such as crude oil, fertilizers, and cross-border logistics. Coupled with expectations of reduced production in major producing areas, this provides strong support for the sesame market. The volume of sesame arrivals from Nigeria will determine the extent of this price rebound, and fluctuations in port inventories remain the core factor influencing spot price trends. In the medium to long term, against the backdrop of complex and volatile geopolitics, maintaining reasonable and safe sesame reserves is particularly crucial for my country, as a major global sesame consumer. Starting in May, core producing countries around the world will successively usher in the new season's sesame harvest and market entry. The pace of new goods entering the market will gradually transmit to the spot market, exacerbating price volatility. Whether the subsequent rebound can continue and whether the market will see a trend reversal depends crucially on the crop conditions in Pakistan and West Africa. Weather changes remain the core variable affecting the industry's trend. Li Shuanyun, General Manager of Zhumadian COFCO Grains & Oils Co., Ltd., who has been deeply involved in the sesame industry for many years, analyzed that the geopolitical situation in the Middle East remains a significant variable affecting sesame prices. While regional conflicts continue to bring uncertainty to the global commodity market, the sesame industry is gradually breaking free from its reliance on energy prices, and the "war premium" driven by speculative funds is gradually fading. Currently, the domestic sesame market is in a transitional period of easing geopolitical risks and reshaping pricing based on supply and demand fundamentals. He also proposed a "five-year cycle" development pattern for the sesame industry: since its historical high in August 2023, sesame prices have entered a long downward trend, with a period of fluctuation and adjustment lasting two and a half years. Currently, it is the traditional off-season for domestic sesame consumption, coupled with the pressure of concentrated arrivals at Qingdao Port and repeated geopolitical disturbances, resulting in the market price generally maintaining a narrow range of fluctuation. Cui Shaozhen, Deputy General Manager of Ruifu Oils Co., Ltd., analyzed the current situation and future trends of the domestic sesame oil industry, predicting four major development trends: First, the industry will steadily expand, with a growth rate of 4% to 6% and total consumption remaining stable at 350,000 to 400,000 tons, maintaining its niche and distinctive oil positioning. Second, consumption will accelerate towards high-end upgrades, with mass consumer demand shifting from "sufficient quantity and basic needs" to "health, quality, and upgraded processing," leading to a continuous increase in the recognition of high-quality, high-end products. Third, sales channels will be rapidly restructured, with traditional supermarket channels gradually weakening and new retail and e-commerce channels rapidly emerging, as consumers increasingly value product quality, stable supply, and brand reputation. Fourth, industry differentiation will intensify, with brand enterprises possessing advantages in standardization, scale, and high quality developing alongside low-priced, unlabeled small workshops, continuously squeezing the survival space of mid-range small and medium-sized processing enterprises. The China-Brazil Sesame Industry Seminar was held concurrently with the conference. In recent years, agricultural and trade cooperation between China and Brazil has continued to deepen and become more practical. Since Brazilian sesame officially entered the Chinese market in 2025, it has quickly gained favor in the domestic market due to its excellent quality. It achieved large-scale exports to China in just six months, becoming my country's third largest source of sesame imports. The bilateral trade in sesame between China and Brazil has shown strong vitality and broad prospects.