Latvia’s Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economics (AREI) compared prices of food products in Maxima and Rimi stores in the Baltic States in June-July 2023, LETA reports. The institute found that in Maxima stores, prices of 43% of products in Lithuania, 32.7% in Latvia, and 31.8% in Estonia were more expensive than in the other…
Estonia’s Ministry of Climate has proposed ending universal electricity service contracts automatically, ERR reports. Under the proposal, customers with universal service would be switched automatically to state-owned energy group Eesti Energia’s general service if the average market price of electricity remains below the universal service price for three consecutive months. Eesti Energia’s general service would…
Experts expect the growth of food prices in Latvia to continue falling, LETA reports. Noris Kruzitis, head of the Latvian Food Retailers Association (LPTA), projected that the growth of food prices would continue to slow down by 3-4 percentage points in the coming months. Inguna Gulbe, head of the Agricultural Market Promotion Centre (LTVC), said…
Producer prices in Latvia’s industry rose by 0.4% in June 2023, compared to June 2022, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. Prices of products sold on the domestic market rose by 3.8%, while prices of exported products dropped by 3.6%. Compared to May 2023, producer prices in Latvian industry declined by…
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…
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 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…
Estonia’s producer price index (PPI) of industrial output fell by 1.9% on year in June 2023, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Compared to May 2023, the PPI dropped by 0.4%. The biggest impact on the index came from a fall in the price of electricity production and in the manufacture of wood products and…
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…