The Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has rejected the opposition Estonian Centre Party’s (Keskerakond) proposal to lower the VAT on basic food products to 9%, ERR reports. No MPs voted against the proposal, but 42 MPs, mostly from the ruling coalition, abstained. Under the proposal, the VAT on specific categories of food, including vegetables and dairy,…
Estonia’s Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, Piret Hartman, is visiting India to promote bilateral trade, BNS reports. She is accompanied by a business delegation of several leading Estonian food and beverage companies. Hartman noted that Estonia was already exporting cheese to India, but suggested that there was also potential for exporting other dairy products,…
Food prices in Latvia will grow by less than 4% in 2024, Ieva Opmane, economist at the Bank of Latvia, forecast, LSM reports. The price hike will be higher than average inflation but much less than in 2023 and 2022, she said. The rise in food prices will depend on consumer income, energy prices, harvests,…
The European Commission has granted EUR 6.8mn of financial support for Latvia’s agricultural sector, LSM reports. Latvia had requested EUR 11mn of EU aid. Agriculture Minister Didzis Smits noted that the support accorded to Latvia was proportionally the largest amount of aid granted. The support is intended for industries negatively impacted by the war in…
The Lithuanian dairy processing group, Vilvi Group, posted consolidated sales of EUR 103.73mn in the first half of 2023, GlobeNewswire reports. Compared to the same period of 2022, the group’s sales declined by 8.1%. Vilvi Group consists of Lithuania’s Kelmes Pienas, Kelmes Pienine, Modest, Pieno Logistika, and Vilkyskiu Pienine, as well as Latvia’s Baltic Dairy…
Food prices in Estonia continued to rise sharply in June 2023 compared to the year before but remained relatively stable from a month earlier, according to data from the Estonian Institute of Economic Research (EKI), ERR reports. The price increases were particularly notable for meat and dairy products. The price of sugar has risen from…
The Estonian company, Biometaan, has signed an agreement with Finland’s Convion to start selling mobile power plants running on fuel cells in the Baltic States, ERR reports. The solid oxide fuel cell power plant will generate energy from biomethane produced from cow slurry at the Mangeni PM dairy farm in the village of Koksvere in…