Latvian traders' body: officials block food rescue at shuttered MERE stores as producers' funds stay frozen

The Latvian Traders Association (LTA) has issued a strongly worded statement accusing Latvia's Financial Intelligence Unit (FID) of incompetence and administrative overreach in its handling of the closed MERE retail chain. The association says the agency's decisions are leading to the deliberate destruction of food, in violation of both Latvian and EU rules on reducing food waste.

Products set to spoil

LTA says it received another urgent appeal from staff at the shuttered stores, who report that warehouses still hold large quantities of meat products, including sausages, that will expire within days. The Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) reportedly understands the urgency and supports quickly handing the goods to charity, but FID has refused, arguing that donating the food would count as "economic activity" by a sanctioned company.

Accusations of arbitrary decision-making

LTA president Henriks Danusēvičs said the FID ruling amounts to blatant bureaucratic arbitrariness, since the agency has full legal authority to grant an exception allowing perishable goods to be donated in order to prevent a biological disaster. He argued FID is thereby breaching Article 21.1 of the Waste Management Law and the EU Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), which obliges the state to prevent food loss. Danusēvičs noted that once the goods rot within days and the state has to pay for their disposal, it will no longer treat the matter as economic activity — calling this complete irresponsibility.

Compensation left unresolved

LTA also criticized FID for maintaining what it called a legally unworkable scheme for recovering money owed to producers: Latvian suppliers are required to settle their claims directly with MERE's management, yet the state provides no contact information for MERE officials and blocks any communication channel. LTA has called on the Prime Minister to immediately end the bureaucratic impasse and direct FID to use its legal powers to save the food, return goods to businesses, and resolve the outstanding compensation issue.