SunOpta Opens Ethiopian Hulling Plant

SunOpta, an operator in natural and organic foods and natural health markets, has completed construction of the first natural and organic sesame hulling plant in Ethiopia, called Selet Hulling.

Owned partly by Tradin Organic Agriculture, a division within the SunOpta International and Sourcing Group, and Kaleb Service Farmers House, an Ethiopian company, the plant is located near Addis Ababa and has been financed by the joint venture partners with a financial grant from the government of the Netherlands.

It has the current capacity to process 10,000t of sesame per annum, with the potential to generate revenues in excess of $20m with its dry hulling and colour sorting technologies.

Selet will purchase sesame seeds from grower-owned cooperatives representing more than 1,500 farmers in Humera, a region north of Addis Ababa.

It has also built a research and development operation in Humera.

Its natural and organic sesame products will be sold exclusively by Tradin Organics to export markets to be used in the food ingredient and bakery industries.

Tradin Organic Agriculture specialises in sourcing and selling organic products from all over the world, including certified organic and fair trade coffee from Ethiopia.