Poor management of Latvia’s state forest management company, Latvijas Valsts Mezi (LVM), led to major monetary losses, according to the State Audit Office (LRVK), LSM reported. The audit concluded that LVM’s management and the Ministry of Agriculture had failed to ensure sufficiently effective oversight of the company. The government’s decision to provide support to timber…
Latvia’s outgoing Prime Minister Evika Silina has dismissed Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze of the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) after the latter came under criminal investigation for abuse of office, LSM reported. Earlier, Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) briefly detained Krauze and the Agriculture Ministry’s former state secretary, current director of the…
Latvia’s industrial production output increased by 9.2% in the first quarter of 2026, compared to the same period of 2025, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s (CSP) calendar-adjusted data at constant prices, LSM reported. Output rose by 1.0% in manufacturing and by 40.6% in electricity and gas supply, but fell by 30.7% in mining and…
Estonia’s industrial production declined by 3.1% at constant prices in March 2026 compared to the same period of 2025, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Output increased by 5.9% in mining, but decreased by 19.5% in energy production and by 1.2% in manufacturing. In the manufacturing sector, output in wood processing rose by 5%, fabricated…
Estonia’s exports of goods totalled nearly EUR 1.5bn in February 2026, which was down 1% from the same period of 2025, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Imports of goods totalled nearly EUR 1.9bn, which was up 6% over a year. Estonia’s monthly trade deficit thus amounted to EUR 426mn, which was EUR…
Lithuania’s real GDP totalled EUR 84bn at current prices in 2025, which was up 2.7% from 2024, according to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data from the State Data Agency (VDA), BNS reported. According to unadjusted data, the country’s GDP rose by 2.8% on year. Gross value added grew by 3.2% in industry, 3% in services, 2.1%…
The gross value added (GVA) generated by the forestry and logging industry in the Baltic States was highest in Latvia in 2022, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. The sector’s GVA totalled EUR 490mn in current prices in Latvia in 2022, which was up from EUR 123mn in 2000. The forestry industry’s GVA totalled EUR…
The Lithuanian wood processing group, VMG Group, has suspended its plan to build a particleboard factory in neighbouring Latvia for an indefinite period, Baltic News Network reports, citing business news portal Verslo Zinios. Rimas Varanauskas, shareholder of the project’s partners, Lithuanian furniture manufacturers Freda and Freda II, said that the project was put on hold…
Estonia was the world’s largest exporter of prefabricated wooden houses in 2023, ELTA reports, citing Lithuanian business news portal Verslo Zinios. Estonia had a global market share of 21.5%, followed by Lithuania with 9.3% and Poland with 8%. Estonia’s exports of wooden buildings totalled EUR 390mn in 2023. Lithuania came in second with EUR 164mn, which…