������

Vision 2030 repositions Arabica cultivation as economic engine and cultural export.

Jazan — Saudi Arabia is transforming its ancient coffee highlands into a modern agricultural powerhouse, leveraging centuries-old Khawlani Arabica beans as both a premium export and a pillar of post-oil economic diversification.

According to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), the Kingdom aims to plant 1.2 million coffee trees by 2026, converting 15 southwestern governorates into dedicated Arabica production hubs. The Jazan region alone already hosts around 2,000 farms producing over 1,000 tonnes annually, as reported by Global Coffee Report in July 2025.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched the Saudi Coffee Company (SCC) in 2022 with a SAR 1.2 billion (USD 320 million) ten-year investment to scale the entire value chain. SCC targets a tenfold production increase to 2,500 tonnes per year and 8,000 jobs. In September 2023, the company unveiled its specialty brand JAZEAN, sourced from the southern coffee belt. Mohammed Zainy, SCC Marketing Director, called the brand “a labour of love,” adding, “By developing JAZEAN, we are putting our local farmers on the map and giving them a platform to contribute to a national brand, which will take our homegrown product global.”

On the research front, the Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program (Saudi Reef) and Estidamah have launched a tissue culture initiative to boost productivity. Program spokesperson Majid Al-Brikan told Arab News in July 2025 that scientists had achieved “significant scientific breakthroughs,” re-evaluating 82 genetic patterns and consolidating them into 12 genetic groups, aiming for 50,000 seedlings and a 30 percent productivity leap. MEWA also signed a 15-year investment contract to establish the Kingdom’s first “coffee city” in Baljurashi with the local Agricultural Cooperative Society.

Cultural branding is equally strategic. Saudi Arabia declared 2022 the “Year of Saudi Coffee,” officially replacing the term “Arabic Coffee” in hospitality. Khawlani coffee cultivation is now inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the Kingdom joined the International Coffee Agreement in 2022. SCC’s chief executive told The Business Year the ultimate ambition is to become “globally recognized as the ‘home of Arabica,’ showcasing Saudi hospitality and inviting the world to share our vision for progress through coffee.”

Source: PIF