The Kingdom ranked 11th globally in importing tea products, 13th in importing coffee products, and 14th in importing chocolate

The International Forum for the Sustainability of Saudi Coffee highlighted the Kingdom’s potentials to be a global hub for the trade and manufacture of coffee.

 

The forum, which concluded on Sunday, was organized by the Ministry of Culture in the southern city of Jizan with the participation of local and international experts to mark International Coffee Day.

 

A set of recommendations were issued at the end of the event, including the importance of Saudi Arabia joining the International Coffee Organization to promote the exchange of experiences, enhance the presence of the local product internationally, and cooperate in the field of research, innovation, and development of national capabilities.

 

“Currently coffee is considered the second-largest traded commodity in the world after oil, with the global coffee market value reaching $102 billion in 2020. It is expected that the market will continue to grow to reach a rate of 4.28 percent during the period 2022-2026,” stated Radi Al-Faridi, deputy director general of the National Research and Development Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Moreover, he remarked that as the expansion in the coffee market increases so will the pressure on coffee supply chains.

 

Ghadeer Fallata, researcher from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority pointed that around 43 percent of Saudi adults consume caffeine at a rate of less than 300 mg per day, highlighting an increasing growth of commercial activities related to coffee

 

“There has been steady growth of commercial activities related to cafes, as the Kingdom ranked 11th globally in 2019 in importing tea products, 13th in importing coffee products, and 14th in importing chocolate,” she added.

 

Source: Asharq Al-Awsat