§1What this business is

Dried, mature sesame seed is cleaned and crushed in ghanis with water added slowly until the oil comes out; the oil is filtered, weighed and filled in glass or plastic bottles. The leftover cake is sold as cattle feed. Gingelly oil is widely used for cooking and pickles in South India.

Capacity: 800 quintals of oil (₹5,000 a quintal) and 1,250 quintals of oil cake (₹800 a quintal) a year.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone in a sesame-growing or gingelly-using region who can sell branded cold-pressed oil.

Who it is not for

Someone without working capital to buy seed at harvest.

Advantages

  • Cold-pressed (ghani) oil fetches a premium
  • Oil cake is a ready second product
  • Simple, known technology
  • Steady demand in South India

Drawbacks

  • Seed is over 60% of sales — margin depends on seed price
  • Thin net margin (about 7%)
  • Many small ghanis compete locally
  • Adulteration hurts trust in loose oil

Skills you need

  • Seed buying and quality checks
  • Running ghanis and expeller
  • Filtering and packing
  • Selling oil and cake

Why difficulty 2/5: Easy technology, but seed price decides profit.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Households (cooking and pickles)
  • Pickle makers
  • Dairy farmers and feed traders (oil cake)

How it sells

  • Kirana and grocery shops
  • Own outlet at the mill
  • Feed traders for cake

Good to know

  • The profile says gingelly oil is used vastly in the southern region, mainly in pickles.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Power ghani10—
6-bolt expeller1—
Semi-automatic packing machine1—
Filter press with accessories1—
SS/aluminium-top working tables2—
Weighing balances (platform and table)2—
Exhaust fans and water tanks1 lot—
All equipment together1 lot₹8,50,000

From: KVIC Project Profile — Gingilee Oil and Oil Cake Manufacturing (PMEGP)

  • Sesame (gingelly) seed₹37.50 L a year at full capacity
  • Labels and packing material (glass/plastic bottles)₹2.50 L a year

From: KVIC Project Profile — Gingilee Oil and Oil Cake Manufacturing (PMEGP)

In our raw material database

Sesame (til) →

§5Licences & registration

  1. FSSAI licence
  2. Udyam registration
  3. GST registration
  4. Legal Metrology registration for packaged oil
  5. State Pollution Control Board consent

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMEGP (KVIC profile) and PMFME fit; AIF for primary processing; MUDRA and CGTMSE for credit.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: KVIC profile: work shed 3,000 sq ft ₹6.00 L + equipment ₹8.50 L (10 power ghanis, 6-bolt expeller, packing machine, filter press, scales, tables, fans, tanks) = capital ₹14.50 L; working capital ₹5.00 L; total ₹19.50 L. Land own.

Working capital: Working capital ₹5.00 L; sesame seed ₹37.50 L a year at full capacity.

Year not printed on the KVIC profile — check current machinery prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export

1515.50Sesame oil and its fractions2306.90Oil-cake and other solid residues — other (includes sesame cake)

Export council / board: IOPEPC (Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council)

  • HS codes are from the WCO HS 2022 list; confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
  • You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Sesame price spikes
  • Seed shortage in a bad season
  • FSSAI quality failure
  • Price competition

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working gingelly (sesame) oil and oil cake unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (FSSAI licence, Udyam registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

Not verified yet

Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start Gingelly (Sesame) Oil and Oil Cake?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. KVIC Project Profile — Gingilee Oil and Oil Cake Manufacturing (PMEGP)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.