Latvia: Ministry urges keeping lower VAT for fruit, vegetables in 2024

Latvia’s Ministry of Agriculture has proposed that a reduced VAT rate on fresh fruit, berries, and vegetables should remain in place in 2024 as well, Baltic News Network reports. The ministry’s report showed that fruit and vegetable farms in Latvia expanded more rapidly than in other EU countries in 2017-2022. At the same time, imports of fruit, berries, and vegetables have increased as well, however. Rolands Feldmanis, director general of the Latvian Association of Agricultural Cooperatives (LLKA), welcomed the ministry’s proposal, saying that the lower VAT rate created better conditions of competition for local producers.