Latvia plans to discuss ban on Russian grain imports, transit with Lithuania, Estonia, Finland

RIGA. Jan 9 (Interfax/BNS) - Latvia should ban imports and the transit of Russian grain and begin a dialogue with Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland to forge a common position on this issue, Latvian Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens said in an interview with Latvian radio.

Considering that Latvian railways and ports have been too dependent on the transshipment of Russian cargo for years, Briskens said he had prepared a letter to his counterparts from Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland urging them to discuss a common position on the matter. "This is not an issue that Latvia can settle on its own. We need to look for allies, in this particular case our Baltic and Finnish partners," Briskens said.

According to the Latvian Agriculture Ministry's estimates, Latvian ports and railway transport may lose an aggregate 100 million euros from a ban on imports and the transit of Russian grain.

Speaking following a Latvian ruling coalition meeting on January 8, Economy Minister Viktors Valainis insisted that, for a ban on grain imports from Russia to be effective, it should be imposed at the European Union level.

Valainis called for continuing work started by the government, the Transport Ministry, and the Agriculture Ministry to bring up the issues at the European level.

"If we want to achieve a productive result, we need to make sure that such sanctions are introduced across the whole of the EU," he said.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina has issued a resolution summarizing information on grain imports from Russia.

Latvia has yet to estimate the precise amount of grain coming from Russia, look into whether this amount includes Ukrainian grain, or calculate losses, Silina said.

Silina warned that the matter concerns not only money, and that Latvia along with other EU countries has committed itself to supplying food to African countries.

Latvia is the second largest importer of Russian agricultural produce and foodstuffs in the European Union following Spain, as is evident from a report drawn up by the Agriculture Ministry and published on Latvia's online database of legal acts.

According to the Latvian Agriculture Ministry, EU countries imported 2.2 billion euros' worth of agricultural products from Russia in January-October 2023, which is 10% more than in January-October 2021 and 15% less than in the same period in 2022.

Latvia alone imported 12% of all Russian agricultural produce shipped to the EU in monetary terms over the first ten months of 2023, ranking second in the EU in this respect. The value of Russian agricultural produce imported by Latvia in this period was 280 million euros, compared to Spain's 281 million euros.