Latvia grain transit from Russia and Belarus surges

Grain transit from Russia and Belarus through Latvia has surged, with Russian transit volumes already exceeding the total recorded for the entire previous year. Data from the Latvian State Revenue Service (VID) shows that in the first nine months of the year, grain transit from Russia reached 689,995 tonnes, a 2.3-fold increase compared to the same period in 2025.

By early October, the total volume of Russian grain transiting through Latvia reached 742,000 tonnes, surpassing the 2025 annual total of approximately 652,000 tonnes. Transit from Belarus also saw a significant increase, rising to 131,417 tonnes in the first nine months, compared to just 60.8 tonnes during the same period last year.

While current European Union and Latvian laws do not prohibit the transit of grain from these countries, customs authorities are conducting rigorous documentary inspections. These checks aim to ensure that shipments are not sourced from Ukrainian territories currently not under government control, such as Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia.