§1What this business is
Raw sesame is cleaned on a vibrating screen and de-stoner, dipped in a hot caustic-soda (lye) solution for a set time, washed, and brushed under running water to strip the husk, then dried in a cross-flow or fluid-bed dryer. The hull is about 17% of the seed's weight. Hulled sesame is white and soft and goes into sweets, confectionery and bakery products; the profile says India is the world's largest sesame exporter.
Capacity: 300 tonnes of confectionery-grade sesame a year (single shift, 300 days), sold at ₹120 a kg — ₹3.60 crore.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A trader or processor in a sesame-growing area with access to good seed and export buyers.
Who it is not for
Someone who cannot finance ₹2.70 crore a year of seed or handle chemical wash water safely.
Advantages
- Hulled sesame sells at a clear premium over raw seed (₹120 vs ₹75 a kg in the profile)
- Large demand from sweet makers, bakeries and exporters
- Sesame is harvested twice a year and is available all year (profile)
- Simple process with a small team
Drawbacks
- Margin depends on buying raw sesame well
- Caustic-soda wash water must be treated before discharge
- Export buyers test strictly for residues and microbes
- About 17% of the weight is lost as hull
Skills you need
- Grading and buying sesame
- Controlling lye strength, time and washing
- Drying to the right moisture
- Food-safety and export documentation
Why difficulty 3/5: Simple machines, but large raw-material money and strict food and export quality.
§3Market
Who buys
- Sweet and confectionery makers (gajak, chikki, rewri, laddoo)
- Bakeries and biscuit makers
- Exporters and overseas food companies
- Oil millers wanting high-quality oil (profile: hulled seed gives good oil)
How it sells
- Direct supply to food factories
- Sesame traders and exporters
- Own brand in retail packs
Good to know
- The profile says more than 40% of India's sesame is exported every year.
- Hulled sesame is about 22% protein and 60% oil (profile).
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sesame seed pre-cleaning unit | 1 | ₹5,00,000 |
| De-stoner | 1 | ₹3,00,000 |
| Wire-mesh basket | 1 | ₹2,50,000 |
| Mixing tanks | 1 | ₹6,00,000 |
| Vibratory screen | 1 | ₹1,75,000 |
| Pulper and mechanical dryer | 1 | ₹2,50,000 |
| Miscellaneous tools | lump sum | ₹1,00,000 |
From: DC-MSME project profile — Confectionery Grade Sesame Seed (2021)
- Raw sesame seed3,60,000 kg a year at ₹75 a kg
- Soda alkali (caustic soda)14,000 kg a year at ₹35 a kg
- Hydrochloric acid4,000 kg a year at ₹13 a kg
- PP woven sacks12,000 a year at ₹8 each
From: DC-MSME project profile — Confectionery Grade Sesame Seed (2021)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
Agro Asian Industries · Ambala →Delite Industries · Ahmedabad →Duex Industrial Systems · Mumbai →Fresh and Crush · Chennai →Goldin (India) Engg. Co · Vadodara →Green Focus Solutions · Bengaluru →Jyothi Industries · Bengaluru →Kare Chemicals · Kochi →Packaging Solution · Ghaziabad →SIDVIN · Mysuru →
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- FSSAI licence
- Udyam
- GST
- State Pollution Control Board consent (the profile asks for an NOC)
- IEC and export-council registration (RCMC) before exporting
- Mandi licence if you buy seed in a regulated market
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMFMECentralUnclear35% subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh
- AIFCentralUnclear3% interest subvention, up to ₹2 crore
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
PMFME (credit-linked subsidy for micro food processing), AIF (interest subvention for primary processing), CGTMSE and Stand-Up India fit. The ₹79 L cost is above PMEGP's ₹50 L limit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Fixed capital ₹38.92 L (land 100 sq m ₹2 L; shed, office and store 150 sq m ₹12 L; machinery ₹21.75 L; electrification ₹2.17 L; office furniture ₹50,000; pre-operative ₹50,000) + working capital ₹40.48 L = ₹79.40 L.
Working capital: Raw sesame is the big cost: 3,60,000 kg a year at ₹75 a kg = ₹2.70 crore. Working capital of ₹40.48 L covers 2 weeks of raw material, 1 week in process, 2 weeks of finished stock and 2 weeks of credit to buyers.
Prepared February 2021 — check today's sesame and machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: IOPEPC
- Register with the Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council and hold an IEC before exporting.
- Buyers test for pesticide residue and salmonella; keep lab reports for each lot.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Sesame price swings between seasons
- Rejection of export lots for residue or salmonella
- Effluent from the caustic wash
- Credit to buyers locking up money
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working hulled (confectionery-grade) sesame seed unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (FSSAI licence, Udyam), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
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 Hulled (Confectionery-Grade) Sesame Seed?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.