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…
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…
The Estonian government has announced an emergency situation in the country’s agriculture sector due to adverse weather conditions in recent years, ERR reports. The declaration will ease regulatory and contractual obligations for farmers and other agricultural businesses, but will not entail financial support measures. Estonia has experienced exceptionally low rainfall and high temperatures in recent…
The total area of agricultural land in Estonia has remained almost unchanged in 2023, according to Statistics Estonia’s preliminary data, The Baltic Times reports. Meanwhile, the area of arable land out of use for one year or more amounts to 28,200 hectares, which is 2.5 times more than in 2022. The area of land used…