Horizon Plantations Ethiopia Plc intends to double its annual revenue from coffee projects by three years time.

The plan is part of the U.S. $ 500 Million investment program the company is making on agriculture. According to Kemal Mohammed, General Operations Director, Horizon will spend U.S. $ 25 Million in order to train employees, improve roads and replace washing units at the Limmu and Bebeka coffee plantations.

Horizon Plantations, of which majority is owned by Saudi billionaire Mohamed al-Amoudi, intends to make a five year investment program. The program in addition to the two coffee plantations includes Ethiopia’s largest orange grower with 1,200 hectares of citrus, Upper Awash Agro Industry Enterprise, and Saudi Star Agricultural Development rice farm, which lies on a total of 10,000 Hectares. On the other hand, the two coffee plantations together have a total of over 18,000 hectares covered with coffee.

Kemal explained, “We are sure because of the initiatives we have now, because of the inputs and techniques we’re applying, the productivity will increase to the maximum at the end of the five years”.

As per an exporters’ association speculation, Ethiopia, Africa’s biggest coffee producer, may see earnings from shipments of Arabica coffee rise 25 percent to about U.S. $ 900 Million in 2014-2015 as prices rise because of shortage caused by a drought in Brazil.

According to Horizon's website, Bebeka coffee plantation is the world’s biggest unfragmented coffee estate with 10,030 hectares under plantation. Limmu on the other hand has 8,000 hectares under coffee and produces 5,000 tons a year of the beans.

Source: Bloomberg