PIF unit launches first Saudi coffee producer

SPA

Saudi Arabia’s coffee exports are poised for major uplift as a unit of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, received approval to set up the country’s first coffee-production unit.

The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu President Khalid Al-Salem granted the Saudi Coffee Company a license to establish a coffee-production factory in Jazan, nearly 600 km south of Jeddah, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

The factory, covering an area of more than 30,000 sq m, will produce and export Saudi coffee variants, boosting local and global supply chains in line with the Vision 2030 initiative.

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In November the Saudi Coffee Company launched a model farm in Jazan, covering one million sq m of farmland.

The launch of the model farm is a cornerstone of the company’s plans to boost production capacity this year from 300 to 2,500 metric tonnes annually.  

The company, set up in 2022, aims to grow five million coffee plants on the site by 2030. It plans to invest more than SAR1 billion ($270 million) in the local coffee sector over the next decade.

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The southwestern province is home to the highest proportion of the kingdom’s 600 coffee farms. There are 400,000 coffee trees across the country, with 54,000 of the total in Jazan.

In September 2023, the PIF subsidiary launched its bespoke coffee brand, Jazean, to put local farmers on the map and give them a platform to contribute to a national brand.

Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world, with an output of more than 2.6 million metric tonnes, ahead of Vietnam and Colombia.