Demand for diosgenin for pharmaceuticals is huge, equivalent to 10,000 tonnes of Dioscorea tuber per annum. Until 1970 Mexican yam was the only source of diosgenin for steroidal contraceptive manufacture. Following nationalization of the Mexican industry, prices increased drastically forcing the search for alternative sources of diosgenin and alternatives to diosgenin. Fenugreek seeds are exploited for their diosgenin content and hecogenin (Agave), sarsasapogenin (Yucca), stigmasterol (soya), solasodine (Solanum) are now being used for the production of 16-DPA. Meanwhile total synthesis of several steroids also became economically feasible and is much used now.

The total turnover of bulk steroids in the world is estimated to be US $500 million and estimated worldwide usage is somewhere between 550 and 650 tonnes of diosgenin. Mexico, Gautemala, Costa Rica, India and China are the major diosgenin-producing countries. Hecogenin is produced in Kenya, Mexico, China and Israel from Agave.

In India D. deltoidea, D. floribunda and D. prazeri are the species cultivated. The cultivation is tedious and expensive. It requires special climatic conditions and protection from virus and other microorganisms. D. floribunda commercially released by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research near Bangalore is introduced for cultivation in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal and Assam. D. deltoidea is grown at an altitude of 122 m in the Himalayan tracks in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Dioscorea species are cultivated by vegetative propagation techniques in about 100 acres of land.

With the introduction of solasodine as a basic analog of diosgenin, the worldwide demand for diosgenin has considerably reduced. Diosgenin is also commercially produced in a low concentration from the tubers of Costus speciosus. A number of private units like Cipla, Wyeth, Organon and also CIMAP are engaged in the commercial cultivation of Dioscorea.