Sovereign Wealth Fund PIF Launches the Saudi Coffee Company in Boost for Kingdom’s Food and Ag Sector
Posted on 05/15/2022
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced the launch of the Saudi Coffee Company. The company has been established to enable Saudi Arabia’s coffee bean to be a global product in the future, and will play a vital role in developing sustainable coffee production in the southern Jazan region, home to the world-famous Coffea Arabica. The launch of the Saudi Coffee Company aligns with PIF’s strategy, which focuses on developing and enabling 13 sectors, including food and agriculture, as part of broader efforts to diversify sources of income for the local economy. In partnership with the private sector, the Saudi Coffee Company’s primary goal is to ensure that the national coffee industry is enabled along its entire value chain, from bean to cup.
Market
The coffee market in Saudi Arabia has grown considerably in recent years, and domestic market statistics demonstrate the attractive opportunity presented by the coffee sector. Market data shows that coffee consumption in Saudi Arabia grew by approximately 4% a year between 2016 and 2021 and is forecast to increase by a further 5% per annum up to 2026, reaching an expected annual consumption of 28,700 tons, according to 2022 data from Euromonitor International.
Plans
Over the next ten years, Saudi Coffee Company intends to invest nearly SAR 1.2 billion in the national coffee industry, with the goal of boosting the country’s production from 300 tons per year to 2,500 tons per year. According to the latest statistics, the national production of the Saudi Khawlani coffee beans comes from the mountainous regions of Jazan, Al Baha, and Aseer. Across the three regions, there are more than 2,500 coffee plantations with a combined total of around 400,000 coffee trees.
