Latvia: Coalition agrees to ban imports of Russian, Belarusian grain

Latvia’s ruling coalition has agreed to ban imports of Russian and Belarusian grain, BNS reports. The coalition expects the parliament, the Saeima, to pass a bill on the ban in February 2024. Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze said that companies using Russian grain would be ineligible for state support. Also, the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) will increase controls on grain transit, so as to stop shipments of grain from Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. Earlier, the Agriculture Ministry estimated that the volume of Russian grain and agricultural products shipped via Latvia would total 4mn tonnes in 2024. Stopping the shipments could cost Latvian ports EUR 60mn and the railway sector another EUR 40mn in lost revenue.