Russian companies offered to grow coffee in West Africa

Sierra Leone is ready to lease land to Russian entrepreneurs for coffee cultivation, the country’s Ambassador to Russia Mohamed Yongavo told TASS on the sidelines of the IX international forum “North Caucasus: a space of dialogue, traditions and development”.

“Why don’t you, Russians, Russian businessmen, buy coffee directly from Sierra Leone so that tariffs and other restrictions are lower?” That is why I suggest that Russian businessmen do this. Incidentally, I have already visited Sierra Leone with several Russian businessmen who have shown interest not only in buying coffee, but also in growing it. And our state is ready to rent them land so that they grow coffee, because then in 3-4 years they could already realize and realize our dream to bring coffee to Russia directly from Sierra Leone.

The country is not one of the largest coffee producers in Africa. “But our coffee is very high quality, organic, so there are so many opportunities in this area,” Yongavo said.

Sierra Leone is a country on the coast of West Africa. There, coffee is one of the key agricultural crops and brings the country foreign exchange earnings.

The global coffee market remains unstable. In August, exports from Colombia fell sharply after the strongest earthquake in a decade that disrupted roads and the port of Buenaventura. The country ranks second in the world in Arabica production, after Brazil.

Russia buys coffee mainly in Brazil and Vietnam, but is almost entirely dependent on imported raw materials, so changes in world prices affect the cost of coffee in the country.