Russian grain transit to Liepāja to continue until at least February despite planned ban
Even if the Latvian government bans new Russian grain transit contracts, existing agreements at the port of Liepāja will remain valid until February 2027, and some until the end of 2028. This was reported by the TV3 programme "Nekā personīga".
Russian grain transit through Latvia to the port of Liepāja will continue until at least February 2027, even if the government prohibits new transit contracts, TV3's investigative programme "Nekā personīga" reported on Sunday, 15 November. The issue is pressing after farmers protested against the transit in Jēkabpils last weekend.
Following the protests, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (United List) promised a law banning new transit contracts. Existing contracts would not be affected. The programme found that Liepājas Bulk Terminal, Liepāja's largest grain terminal, has contracts valid until 1 February, while the state-owned company LDz Cargo has some running until the end of 2028. LDz Cargo has carried almost 40 percent of Russian grain this year, while Liepājas Bulk Terminal plans to handle up to 350,000 tonnes of Russian grain and up to 500,000 tonnes of sugar beet and sunflower processing products next year.
Ģirts Krūmiņš, State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the draft Cabinet regulation includes a transition period for existing contracts, but it is only a draft and the final outcome is still to be discussed.
Volumes at the ports
About 830,000 tonnes of Russian and Belarusian grain reached Liepāja this year, twice as much as in all of last year. Ventspils has received almost six times more than last year, while Riga's volume is roughly unchanged. According to the Customs Board of the State Revenue Service, 22 ships carried transit grain from Liepāja this year, eight from Ventspils and three from Riga, all bound for Africa.
Farmers and the port industry
The grain growers' cooperative Latraps says Latvian farmers find it increasingly hard to compete with cheap Russian grain. The Ministry of Agriculture notes that a tonne of wheat cost about 220 euros at the end of October, in line with the five-year average. Farmers point to rising prices of fertiliser, fuel and gas. Jānis Kasilis, president of the Latvian Stevedoring Companies Association, stresses that ports need legal cargo, otherwise shipments from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan would also disappear.
Loss estimates
The Ministries of Transport and Economics estimate that a ban on Russian grain transit alone would cost the economy 27–50 million euros a year. The Transport Ministry puts litigation risk at 180 million euros, while the Liepāja Special Economic Zone Authority says claims could exceed one billion euros. The Ministry of Justice says national sanctions are legally possible, but if Latvia lost at the EU Court of Justice, the minimum penalty would be 199,000 euros.
