Stolen Ukrainian grain may be shipped through Latvia: Authorities tighten controls
Illustrative photo: grain (GettyImages)
The Latvian Parliament has urgently tightened controls on grain shipments from third countries. The new rules are intended to help identify shipments that may be of illegal origin, particularly grain exported from the occupied territories of Ukraine, according to Delfi.
Controls will become stricter
The Saeima finally adopted amendments to the law on the circulation of animal feed on September 24. These amendments allow for the inspection of feed shipments, including the collection of samples for laboratory analysis to determine their origin.
The government must determine the list of shipments to be inspected, as well as the procedure for conducting such inspections by the Food and Veterinary Service.
The need to tighten controls arose after Latvia received information about Ukrainian grain illegally exported from the occupied territories.
The country's authorities are also taking into account the risk that such shipments may be transported with documents indicating Russian origin, particularly through Latvian ports.
Why rules were changed
Latvia had previously imposed a ban on imports of Russian and Belarusian agricultural products and animal feed. However, transit shipments from third countries may pass through the country and the EU without entering the European market.
Now, the authorities want a more flexible mechanism for verifying the origin of shipments. In particular, food-grade grain was not previously inspected to verify the accuracy of its declared geographical origin.
The US Department of Agriculture has revised its assessment of Ukraine's grain market for the 2026/27 marketing year: the wheat production forecast has been raised, but the expected volume of Ukrainian grain exports, conversely, turned out to be lower than the previous estimate.
