Grain Transit From Russia Through Latvia Up More Than Threefold This Year
In the first ten months of this year, 1.115 million tonnes of cereals passed through Latvia in transit from Russia, 3.1 times more than a year earlier. The State Revenue Service stresses that transit is not banned, but customs are tightening checks on grain origin.
Data from Latvia's State Revenue Service (VID) show that 1.115 million tonnes of cereals were moved in transit from Russia through Latvia in the first ten months of this year. In the same period last year the volume was 357,645 tonnes, an increase of 3.1 times. The figures matter because customs must make sure the shipments contain no grain from Ukrainian territories that Russia has illegally annexed.
Volumes by month and country
The largest volume of Russian transit came in October, at 425,163 tonnes, followed by 346,952 tonnes in September. Over all 12 months of 2025, almost 652,000 tonnes of grain were transported in transit from Russia.
Cereal transit from Belarus has also grown. In the first ten months of this year it reached 185,756 tonnes, compared with 60.8 tonnes in the same period last year. For the whole of last year, 128 tonnes of grain moved in transit from Belarus.
What is allowed and what is checked
VID recalls that neither European Union (EU) nor Latvian law currently prohibits the transit of cereal products. However, bringing such goods into Latvia for release into free circulation is banned, and customs strictly monitor compliance.
EU law prohibits importing goods originating in Ukrainian territories not controlled by the Ukrainian government. These are the Crimean peninsula and the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions. The ban covers all import procedures, including transit.
To verify origin, customs carry out documentary checks and, based on risk analysis, may ask businesses for further information: the grain variety, the exact place of cultivation, the delivery route to the EU border, waybills, contracts, transport documents and transport invoices.
VID works with the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD), which handles phytosanitary border control. PVD experts take samples from wheat cargoes moving in transit from Russia and send them to a laboratory that determines the grain's origin.
The customs administration has also written to companies involved in cereal transit, asking about their internal controls for complying with sanctions. It reminded them that each company must apply appropriate checks before signing contracts for the transport, transshipment, storage and onward carriage of cargo.
