The Seimas of Latvia has introduced a ban on the import of agricultural products and feed from Belarus and Russia. The country’s parliament adopted the corresponding amendments to the law “On Agriculture and Rural Development” on Thursday, February 22.
As explained by the Chairman of the Budget and Finance Commission, Janis Reirs, who is responsible for promoting this bill in the Seimas, the import ban itself will apply only to agricultural and livestock products going directly to consumers in Latvia, transportation of these goods to other member countries of the European Union will not be prohibited.
Moreover, according to the adopted amendments, it is also prohibited to import such products from third countries from Belarus and Russia.
How reported in the press service of the Seimas, data from the Ministry of Agriculture of Latvia show that in the first 10 months of 2023, imports of Russian agricultural and feed products to Latvia amounted to about 280 million euros. Moreover, 90% of total imports were made up of four product groups: feed, cereals, peas and rapeseed oil.
After the official adoption of the amendments, the Latvian Seimas instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to issue relevant regulatory documents within two weeks, which would indicate specific agricultural products and feed that are now prohibited from being imported into Latvia from Russia and Belarus.
Earlier, Telegraf reported that in early February, hundreds of Latvian farmers took tractors and other agricultural equipment onto the streets of 16 cities across the country, demanding that the government immediately introduce a ban on the import of agricultural products from Belarus and Russia and take a number of economic and administrative steps to increase the competitiveness of local farmers . They threatened the authorities with a “march on Riga” if they did not comply with their demands.
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