The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) has approved 20 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects to the tune of EUR 371.5mn so far in 2023, LSM reports. The projects will create 1,160 new jobs. The investment projects are in sectors such as bioeconomy, ICT, photonics and smart materials, smart energy and mobility, as well…
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 should increase the number of defence personnel by at least 1.3 times to around 31,000 in view of the current geopolitical situation, Major General Imants Ziedins of the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) stated, LETA reports. He noted that such an increase would not be possible without the compulsory military service. Ziedins said that…
Latvia’s electricity consumption totalled 491 GWh in June 2023, which was the lowest monthly figure since June 2005, according to data from transmission system operator Augstsprieguma Tikls (AST), LSM reports. Electricity consumption declined by 9% over a year and 5% over a month. AST attributed the drop in consumption to the increasing number of microgeneration…
Latvia’s actual unemployment rate stood at 5.6% in June 2023, which was down 1.0 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s labour force survey, LSM reports. Compared to May 2023, the actual unemployment rate remained unchanged. The unemployment rate among men dropped by 0.1 percentage point over a year to…
Latvia’s timber industry exports totalled EUR 1.4bn in the first five months of 2023, which was down more than 20% from nearly EUR 1.9bn in the same period of 2022, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, LSM reports. Exports of wood and wood products amounted to EUR 1.3bn (down 20%), sawn timber to…
Joint policy coordination among the three Baltic States was crucial in the current geopolitical situation, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LETA reports. Speaking during an official visit to Lithuania, Rinkevics noted that Latvia and Lithuania shared common interests in terms of EU and NATO policy, strengthening security and defence capabilities, ensuring energy security and independence,…
Coordinated action by the Baltic States was essential to synchronise their power grids with the continental European system, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LETA reports. Rinkevics discussed the synchronisation project with Climate and Energy Minister Raimonds Cudars. Earlier, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged Rinkevics to speed up the synchronisation project, LETA reported. Speaking after a…
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…
