KROTAJ Tahini Manufacturers PLC (KROTAJ), an international partnership of sesame experts and investment professionals last week on Thursday launched sesame hulling plant in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to provide ready market for thousands of farmers in the country.

The newly certified factory will be manufacturing tahini, a condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame for export.

“By sourcing sesame locally, KROTAJ will support thousands of smallholder farmers and strengthen the sesame industry in Ethiopia,” read part the company’s press statement.

In 2013, SunOpta, an operator in natural and organic foods and natural health markets also launched its first natural and organic sesame hulling plant near the capital city. The plant had a capacity to process ten thousand metric tons of sesame per annum and purchased the raw material from over 1500 farmers in Humera, North of Ethiopia.

RELATED CONTENT: European Union to fund over 15,000 coast farmers to grow cashew nuts and sesame (simsim)

RELATED CONTENT: Farmers growing Sesame (simsim) have a wide range of benefits

RELATED CONTENT: Farmer beats drought with simsim

KROTAJ’s new plant on the other hand will produce 3,758 tons of tahini per year and directly employ more than 40 staff at full capacity.

Sesame is one of the leading agricultural products exported by Ethiopia, generating a significant amount of foreign currency revenue for the country.

Value addition to sesame in Ethiopia has so far been limited, but has the potential to both increase overall revenue for Ethiopian sesame producers and open up new markets worldwide.