Tradin Organic Agriculture, a subsidiary of SunOpta, has increased its stake in organic sesame supplier Selet Hulling to 76%.
Tradin, which operates as part of SunOpta's global ingredients division, previously held a 35% stake in Selet Hulling in a joint venture with Kaleb Service Farmers House.
With this investment, Tradin enhances its global sourcing capabilities as well as strengthen its ingredient processing platform.
Tradin president Gerard Versteegh said: "Increasing our ownership and management control of Selet Hulling is an important step as we continue to expand our global sourcing portfolio.
"There is a very tight supply of organic raw materials, and we continue to take proactive steps to secure ingredients from all over the world to support our global customers as demand continues to outpace supply."
The company said it will continue to source organic sesame and other organic raw materials from Ethiopia and the East-African region.
These products are exported to global markets for use in the food ingredient and bakery industries.
Tradin will partner with organic farmers' cooperatives for sesame sourcing in Ethiopia as well as explore ways to increase yields of sesame, test new varieties, and improve soil fertility and rotation schemes.
