Russian grain imports and transit should be banned - Briskens

RIGA - Both the import and transit of Russian grain should be banned, Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens (Progressives) said in an interview with Latvian Radio on Monday.

He pointed out that for many years it has been said that Latvia's railways and ports are too dependent on Russian cargo handling. "We are now in a situation where, almost 700 days after the start of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, Latvia is still supplying Europe and the world with Russian grain, with the possibility that this is also grain that has been stolen in Ukraine," Briskens said.

The Transport Minister also said that he had prepared a letter with which he would address his colleagues in the Baltics in order to discuss a common position on the issue. "This is not an issue that Latvia can resolve on its own. We need to look for allies - in this case Baltic colleagues and Finnish colleagues," Briskens added.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, Latvia is the second largest importer of Russian agricultural and food products in the European Union (EU) after Spain.

Latvia's grain imports from Russia in the first 11 months of 2023 are 3.2 times higher than before the Russian-led war in Ukraine. Latvia imported 104,000 tons of grain and rapeseed from Russia in January-November 2021, and 332,000 tons in the first 11 months of 2023.

Latvia imported 521,000 tons of grain and rapeseed from some CIS countries and Ukraine in the first 11 months of 2023, 53 percent more than in 2022, when imports totaled 340,000 tons.

At the same time, transit imports into Latvia from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus accounted for 2.2 million tons in the first 11 months of 2023, two time more than in 2022 as a whole.

The total transit of grain into Latvia from Russia in the first 11 months of 2023 was 1.94 million tons, 97 percent more than in 2022 as a whole (900,000 tons), while the transit of wheat was 1.5 million tons, 99 percent more than in 2022 (769,000 tons).

At the same time, the ministry noted that the ban on the import and transit of Russian grain could result in a total loss of EUR 100 million for the Latvian port and rail transport industries.

The ministry pointed out that if Latvia were to ban the railways from transporting and ports from handling four million tons of grain and agricultural products originating in Russia, which is the projected amount for 2024, port revenues would be reduced by EUR 60 million and rail revenues by EUR 40 million.