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)…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics backed a unilateral ban on Russian grain imports without waiting for a joint EU decision, LETA reported. Speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Evika Silina, Rinkevics pointed out that some of the Russian grain was stolen from occupied Ukrainian territory and that Russia was using food as a “hybrid weapon.”…
The presidents of the Baltic States and Poland met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss the transport of Ukrainian grain through EU ports, ERR reports. Estonian President Alar Karis noted that shipping Ukrainian grain via Baltic ports required cooperation with Poland. Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament,…
Estonia’s Ministry of Climate has drawn up an updated national energy and climate plan that includes more ambitious renewable energy and climate neutrality targets, ERR reports. Under the plan, Estonia would produce all power from renewable energy sources by 2030 and be completely climate neutral by 2050. Climate Minister Kristen Michal asserted that the plan…
The Latvian Food Retailers Association (LPTA) has asked Agriculture Minister Didzis Smits to provide proof for his claim of 300% markups on food prices in stores, Baltic News Network reports. If the minister cannot provide such proof, LPTA will ask him to retract his statement. Earlier, Smits claimed that food retailers had applied 300% markups…
Lithuanian agricultural company Kauno Grudai has completed the acquisition of 100% of shares in the local agricultural cooperative, Grybai LT, from organic food producer Auga Group for EUR 16.327mn, GlobeNewswire reports. Kauno Grudai bought the shares from Auga Group’s subsidiaries for EUR 12.949mn and repaid Grybai LT’s loan of EUR 3.379mn. Also, Kauno Grudai granted…
Latvia’s Economy Minister, Ilze Indriksone, said that the state should not intervene in the food market, LSM reports. Earlier, Agriculture Minister Didzis Smits insisted that market intervention was necessary due to the high food prices. He suggested establishing a special regulator to monitor food prices in shops. Indriksone agreed that Latvia’s large supermarket chains, Maxima…
Latvia’s retail sector has had no competition, especially in grocery trade, for years, Agriculture Minister Didzis Smits stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with LTV, Smits asserted that retailers could set markups of 300% plus VAT on local produce and still compete, which he said was “abnormal” and “unpatriotic.” He insisted that in such…
Vegetable production in Estonia is declining due to a shortage of farm workers, ERR reports. As a result, imports and consumer prices of vegetables are rising. In 2019, Estonian farmers grew vegetables on a total area of 2,035 hectares, whereas in 2023, the area is around 50% less. The farm labour shortage began during the…