Saudi Coffee: Optimum Investment In a Sector with 400,000 Trees That Will Improve Regional Supply Chains
Riyadh – Asdaf News:
In keeping with objectives to create crops with competitive advantage, utilize renewable water resources, and subsidize crops with high economic returns, including coffee beans or the so-called “green gold,” the cultivation of coffee is expanding significantly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The declaration of 2022 as “The Year of Saudi Coffee” and the Saudi Cabinet’s approval of the Kingdom’s entry into the International Coffee Accord are two actions taken in that direction.
The Kingdom ranks among the top 10 coffee-consuming nations in the world due to its high per capita consumption rate of more than 80,000 tonnes per year.
The Saudi market imports between 70,000 and 90,000 tonnes of coffee annually, and Saudis spend more than SR 1 billion on the beverage, which is a significant incentive to expand coffee farming. The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (MEWA) is trying to improve the GDP contribution of non-oil goods and achieve self-sufficiency in future domestic production.
In this context, MEWA ramps up efforts to develop the agricultural sector and increase coffee production on agricultural terraces by establishing 60 model coffee farms, to improve food security in rural areas, increase agricultural production, and make use of the plentiful renewable water resources in order to maximize returns for farmers.
Recent research indicate that from 2016 to 2021, coffee consumption in the Kingdom increased by roughly 4% annually. According to the studies, the industry is also anticipated to develop by 5% over the following years, reaching 28,700 tonnes by the end of 2026, which produces and offers appealing investment chances in the industry.
Hence, the ministry plans to make 13 governorates in the southwestern part of the Kingdom important producers of coffee, especially the Khawlani coffee – which is distinguished by its quality – and raise the amount of coffee production in the Kingdom in support of the national economy, in accordance with Vision 2030 goals.
According to the latest figures, the local production of Arabic coffee in the mountainous region, in the Jazan, Al-Bahah and Asir provinces, has reached 1,810 tonnes annually, about 350 tonnes of pure coffee after hulling; this production is grown on 2,535 coffee farms that have some 400,000 coffee trees.
In the Jazan Province, in the mountainous governorates of Al-Dai’yer, Fayfa, Al-Aidabi, Haroub, Al-Raith, and Al-Ardah, more than 1,985 farms containing 340,000 coffee trees produce about 1,320 tonnes annually, and 785 tonnes of pure coffee after hulling; the area hosts an annual festival to market its products.
The coffee farms in the mountainous governorates of the Asir Province come second, with more than 300 farms comprising 40,000 trees that produce 200 tonnes of coffee, or 100 tonnes of pure coffee after hulling, and Al-Bahah Province coffee farms come third, with 250 coffee farms containing 18,000 coffee trees producing 40 tonnes of coffee, or 20 tonnes of pure coffee after hulling.
Within its efforts to develop the coffee sector in the Kingdom, MEWA established a Coffee Research Unit in the Agriculture Research Centre of Jazan Province, to provide guidance to coffee farmers and identify the major obstacles facing the cultivation of coffee.
The unit provides integrated solutions and information to develop the product, by organizing scientific seminars on the coffee industry, including on cultivation methods, and on the water and fertilizers needed to produce a high-quality product.
Moreover, an agreement was signed in 2018 between the Kingdom and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for cost-refundable technical assistance to improve the coffee strain.
MEWA has provided support to enhance production of coffee in the provinces of Jazan, Al-Bahah and Asir, and has launched the Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Programme (REEF), making coffee cultivation on large scale one of its major objectives.
Moreover, the ministry has supported 30,000 farmers with non-refundable subsidies; the Saudi REEF programme supports the Kingdom’s cultivation of Arabic coffee in particular and the coffee sector in general through nine initiatives.__SPA
