Latvia: Exports of goods to Central Asia have increased rapidly

Exports of goods from Latvia to countries that continue to trade with Russia have increased rapidly, LSM reports. At the same time as exports to Russia have come to a halt due to sanctions, exports to countries of the Eurasian Economic Union have risen sharply. Exports of mechanical and electrical equipment to Russia have fallen by around 25% but have risen by 5-12 times to Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sandra Karklina-Admine, deputy director of the State Revenue Service’s (VID) customs administration, said that the authority was working actively with customs authorities in Central Asian countries to assess the situation. VID has opened more than 200 criminal cases on sanctions violations since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Central Statistical Bureau refused to provide a list of companies exporting goods to Central Asian countries so as to avoid “misinterpretations.”