Latvian and Lithuanian ports will be checked to see if Russia is transporting stolen Ukrainian grain

Latvia and Lithuania are tightening controls over the transit of Russian grain through their ports amid suspicions that some of the cargo may originate from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

According to LSM the Latvian government has allowed the Food and Veterinary Service to conduct laboratory tests to establish the actual origin of transit grain, even if the cargo is not intended for sale in the EU.

The decision was made after Ukraine reported significant amounts of grain illegally exported from the occupied territories, which may be transported through Latvian ports with Russian documents.

During the inspections, not only accompanying documents will be checked, but samples will also be taken for laboratory analysis. The goal is to identify discrepancies between the declared and actual geographical origin of the grain.

In parallel, similar checks are already being carried out in Lithuania, writes LTR. On September 9, samples of two more large batches of grain that arrived by rail from the Kaliningrad region were taken at the port of Klaipeda.

Earlier, the Lithuanian service had already taken three samples from another batch. They will be examined in Germany, and the results will be analyzed in the UK.

Lithuanian authorities do not exclude that the grain, which is declared as Russian in the documents, may actually come from the occupied territories of Ukraine and be transported through Kaliningrad.

Currently, the cargoes are not being detained for the duration of laboratory tests. At the same time, Lithuania is considering changing the procedure to take samples at the border with the Kaliningrad region and Belarus, and not after the grain arrives at the Klaipeda port.

The tightening of control comes against the backdrop of a sharp increase in Russian grain transit through the Baltics after problems with exports through the Black Sea ports. Latvia is also considering introducing a 300% tariff on Russian and Belarusian grain cargoes and their transshipment.

It was previously reported that Latvia and Lithuania may stop transshipment of Russian grain through their ports.