Sierra Leone ready to lease land to Russian businesses for coffee growing, envoy says
Version 2: Kommersant adds that Russia’s specialty coffee segment has fallen 80% since 2022 and ties the proposal to bypassing European traders and supply infrastructure, where the previous account rested on TASS and Vedomosti alone.
In short
Sierra Leone’s ambassador to Russia, Mohamed Yongawo, said in an interview with TASS that the state is ready to lease land to Russian businesses to grow coffee and that Russian businessmen could buy coffee directly from Sierra Leone to cut duties and other restrictions, according to Vedomosti and Kommersant. He said the coffee could reach Russia in three to four years, and that Sierra Leone is not among Africa’s largest coffee producers but its coffee is of high quality. Kommersant reported the offer is a bid to bypass European traders, noting that Russia’s specialty coffee segment has shrunk by 80% since 2022.
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Sierra Leone is ready to lease land to Russia for coffee growing, the country’s ambassador to Russia, Mohamed Yongawo, said in an interview with TASS. TASS reported the statement in a headline item, while Vedomosti and Kommersant both carried the ambassador’s remarks, quoting from the same interview. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
“Why shouldn’t you, Russians, Russian businessmen, buy coffee directly from Sierra Leone, so that duties and other restrictions are smaller? That is why I suggest Russian businessmen do so. And our state is ready to lease them land so that they grow coffee, because then in three to four years they could already fulfil and realise our dream of bringing coffee to Russia straight from Sierra Leone,” the ambassador said, according to Vedomosti and Kommersant. [ 2 , 3 ]
Yongawo added that there are some difficulties in trade turnover between Russia and Sierra Leone, but that the countries have opportunities to correct this. He also said Sierra Leone is not among the largest coffee producers in Africa, but that its products are distinguished by high quality, Vedomosti reported. [ 2 ]
Kommersant said the offer matters for the Russian market as an attempt to obtain coffee directly from the country of origin, bypassing European traders. The outlet reported that Russia’s specialty coffee segment has shrunk by 80% since 2022, after European partners refused to supply grain to Russian companies and problems with road transport from Europe made deliveries from warehouses in Hamburg, Antwerp, Trieste and Rotterdam more difficult. Direct purchases from Sierra Leone could help overcome dependence on European supply infrastructure, Kommersant wrote, linking the proposed land lease not only to growing the crop but to creating an independent channel for raw materials. [ 3 ]
Vedomosti separately cited Anton Trenin, an expert at the ACRA corporate ratings group, who said on 4 October that natural coffee in Russia had become about 2% cheaper since the start of 2026. He said the price of a kilogram of instant coffee had fallen to 4,148 rubles by August, and that of bean and ground coffee to 2,051 rubles. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The proposal, made by the ambassador at a Russian forum, points to a possible direct supply route for Russian coffee importers that would bypass European traders, as the envoy described it. Kommersant tied it to the shrinking of Russia’s specialty coffee segment and to dependence on European warehouses, although that outlet alone gives the 80% figure. No Russian official or company response has been reported, so it remains a stated readiness rather than an agreement.
Key facts
- Sierra Leone’s ambassador to Russia, Mohamed Yongawo, said the state is ready to lease land to Russia for coffee growing, in an interview with TASS. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The ambassador spoke at the IX international forum “North Caucasus: space for dialogue, traditions and development”, according to Vedomosti. [ 2 ]
- Yongawo proposed that Russian businessmen buy coffee directly from Sierra Leone so that duties and other restrictions would be smaller. [ 2 , 3 ]
- He said that with leased land Russian businesses could grow coffee and bring it to Russia directly in three to four years. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The ambassador said there are some difficulties in trade turnover between Russia and Sierra Leone, but that the countries have opportunities to fix this. [ 2 ]
- He said Sierra Leone is not among the largest coffee producers in Africa, but its products are of high quality. [ 2 ]
- Kommersant reported that Russia’s specialty coffee segment has shrunk by 80% since 2022, after European partners stopped supplying grain and road transport from Europe became difficult, complicating deliveries from warehouses in Hamburg, Antwerp, Trieste and Rotterdam. [ 3 ]
- Vedomosti reported that ACRA corporate ratings group expert Anton Trenin said on 4 October that natural coffee in Russia had fallen about 2% since the start of 2026, with instant coffee at 4,148 rubles per kilogram by August and bean and ground coffee at 2,051 rubles. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether the Russian government or any Russian company has responded to or is negotiating the proposed land lease. Only the ambassador’s statements are reported; no Russian official or company comment appears in the documents.
- The terms, location and scale of any land lease, and whether the proposal has moved beyond a public offer. The documents give no details of the proposed lease beyond the ambassador’s remarks.
- The figure that Russia’s specialty coffee segment has shrunk by 80% since 2022. Stated only by Kommersant, with no source named in the document.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- TASS reports that Sierra Leone is ready to lease land to Russia for coffee growing. [ 1 ]
- Vedomosti publishes the ambassador’s remarks on the proposed lease and direct coffee purchases. [ 2 ]
- Kommersant publishes the ambassador’s remarks and adds context on Russia’s specialty coffee segment and European supply routes. [ 3 ]