Olam expands capacity for certified Arabica

Two Olam International coffee plantations in Africa have achieved Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certification for over 2500 hectares of planted Arabica coffee. Olam’s subsidiaries Aviv in Tanzania, and the Northern Coffee Corporation Ltd (NCCL) in Zambia, will now help to meet the growing demand from international specialty coffee customers for single-estate, certified, traceable coffee beans. A global agri-business, Olam is one of the world’s largest coffee suppliers, with plantations in Africa, South America and Asia, as well as procuring green coffee from a global network of smallholder farmers. In Africa, Olam is the leading originator and exporter of coffee, supplying all of the world’s major consuming countries. Aviv is a 2000-hectare plantation in the Songea Rural District of Southern Tanzania with 1025 hectares of planted Arabica coffee and a wet mill processing facility. Aviv expects to produce 1600 metric tonnes of coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms in 2017. Aviv volumes will be supplemented with a smallholder coffee programme which currently has 1665 farmers, most of whom are already embraced by the Olam Livelihood Charter and who will be supported for future certification schemes. NCCL is one of Africa’s largest Arabica plantations. Situated at Kasama, in Zambia’s Northern Province, over 1500 hectares have been planted with a target of 2700 hectares. It employs 600 permanent members of staff, increasing to 2500 at peak season, has wet and dry mill processing facilities and an outgrower programme supported by Olam. NCCL is already the largest producer and exporter of coffee in Zambia, and expects to produce 2500 tonnes of Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee in 2017. NCCL is the only plantation in the country with Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certification and is responsible for 88 per cent of the country’s 900 tonnes total certified production.