YBM is a new private avocado oil processing company located in the Southern region of Ethiopia. Sunvado avocado oil factory, also located in the Yirgalem Integrated Agro-Industrial Park, is the first avocado oil processing company and has been exporting its products to the Netherlands since 2019. It collaborated with 88,000 farmers and provided jobs for 40 permanent & 150 temporary workers.
YBM was built with a 104 million ETB investment capital and will export to the international market. It created jobs for 50 permanent & 150 temporary workers and will generate market links for 40,000 avocado farmers.
The factory will export its products to the European market, as stated by Mr. Tamene Gobena, General Manager of YBM. He added that the number of employees is expected to increase to 500. The company has created additional income for smallholder farmers around the area and jobs in the factory for their children.
In recent years, the Ethiopian Government focused on improving the quality and production of avocados to include them in the export items list. Through MASHAV, its development agency, and USAID, the Government of Israel has been helping the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture introduce new avocado varieties and provide technical support.