RIGA - Recent figures show that the Latvian dairy industry may be heading back to its export glory days of the 1920s and '30s. During the first seven months of this year, Latvia exported 72,700 tons of dairy products, three times or 48,900 tons more than a year ago, the figures of the Latvian statistics office reported on Oct. 9
Milk, sour cream and other dairy products, with the exception of butter, cheese and curds, saw a rise of 3.6 times more exported than in the same period in 2005. Exports of milk, sour cream and other dairy products, except butter, cheese and curd, grew 2.9 times to 18.8 million lats (26.8 million euros).
During the seven-month period, butter exports increased by 46.9 percent, while exports of cheese and curd rose by 32.4 percent.
The value of butter exports during the seven months totaled 2.9 million lats, a 35.7 percent rise year-on-year, while the value of cheese and curd exports grew 14.6 percent to 13.1 million lats.
Latvia exported a total of 34.7 million lats worth of dairy products from January to July 2006. Exports of dairy products accounted for 1.9 percent of Latvia's total exports in January to July 2006, up from 1.2 percent a year ago.
