The total area of forest destroyed by fire in Latvia in the first half of 2023 was more than in the past full three years, according to the State Forest Service (VMD), LETA reports. Altogether 508 forest fires were registered and 607 hectares of forest was destroyed in six months. By comparison, the total area…
Lithuania’s state-owned rail freight operator, LTG Cargo, plans to buy electric locomotives for around EUR 100mn to transport cargo between Vilnius and the port of Klaipeda, Baltic News Network reports. The company has launched an international public procurement procedure for the purchase of the electric locomotives, technical maintenance, and supply of spare parts for at…
Accommodation establishments in Estonia received a total of 265,000 guests in May 2023, which was 7% more than in the same month of 2022, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. The number of foreign guests totalled 141,000, which was 21% more than a year earlier. The number of tourists from Finland amounted to…
The Baltic States should disconnect from the Russian-controlled BRELL power grid and synchronise with the European system as planned by the end of 2025, Kalle Kilk, CEO of Estonia’s electricity transmission system operator, Elering, stated, Postimees reports. Kilk noted that Russia provided the Baltic States with grid balancing services. Disconnecting from the Russian grid now…
Estonia’s biggest beer producer, Saku Õlletehas (Saku Brewery), reported sales of EUR 72.3mn in 2022, which was down 11% from 2021, ERR reports. The company’s annual net profit amounted to EUR 6.6mn, which was down 18.5% from a year earlier. The company attributed the worse results to the cessation of exports to Russia and Belarus,…
Estonia’s state-owned company Rail Baltic Estonia, which was established to build the Rail Baltica railway, reported revenue of nearly EUR 39.6mn in 2022, which was up 84.3% from 2021, BNS reports. The company’s annual profit more than doubled from EUR 11.4mn to EUR 28.5mn. Rail Baltic Estonia made a profit of EUR 36mn from targeted…
Almost two thirds of residents in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, prefer to drink tap water, according to a Norstat LT poll for the municipal water supplier, Vilniaus Vandenys, ELTA reports. The survey showed that 71% of Vilnius residents preferred tap water to bottled water. In a similar survey done in 2021, just 44% of Vilnius residents…
Switzerland’s EuroChem Group has announced its decision to temporarily suspend operations at its Lithuanian fertiliser plant, Lifosa, DELFI reports. The company said that sanctions have hindered the plant’s profitability. The Lifosa plant has been closed for scheduled repairs since May 2023. However, EuroChem has now confirmed that it has been unable to find a viable…
The board chairman of Lithuania’s central bank, the Bank of Lithuania, Gediminas Šimkus, said that German banks would be welcome in Lithuania, ELTA reports. Speaking at an event hosted by Lithuania’s honorary consul in Germany, Šimkus noted that the Lithuanian banking sector was still concentrated, with only three major banks accounting for the majority of…