The government of this country decided that Russian and Belarusian grains will no longer be imported into Latvia, the German news portal Agrarheute reports on February 23.
The Latvian Parliament has banned the import of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus. Latvia became the first country in the European Union to make such a decision. At the same time, industry analysts point out that these restrictions do not in any way affect the transit of cereals to other markets.
Latvia is one of the most vehement and consistent critics of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The Baltic country previously lobbied unsuccessfully for a ban on Russian grain imports at EU level.
The European Union, in principle, does not import grain from Russia in large quantities. Both the EU and Russia are considered major exporters of staple foods such as wheat and barley. However, there are exceptions. For example, Russian imports of durum wheat (for pasta production) amount to about 418,000 tons. This is a nine-fold increase compared to last year.
Latvia is the second largest importer of Russian agricultural products in the EU. In the first ten months of 2023, Russia supplied Latvia with agricultural products worth 280 million euros (28 billion rubles).
Source: Rossa Primavera
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