Transit of Russian grain through Lithuania has increased sharply amid tightening controls
Photo by: portofklaipeda.lt
After Lithuania tightened control over the import of Russian grain, imports almost stopped, but transit to other European Union (EU) markets increased sharply.
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BNS wrote about this on Wednesday, April 24, with reference to data from the State Food and Veterinary Service of Lithuania.
The head of the department, Audrone Mikalauskiene, noted that grain imports from Russia and Belarus to Lithuania decreased by 95% after March 18, when the Lithuanian authorities tightened control over the import of grain.
At the same time, transit over the last month, from March 18 to April 16, increased by 2 times compared to the entire period from January 1 to March 18: 317 grain deliveries were recorded through Lithuania to Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic and other EU countries (versus 184 games since the beginning of the year).
Just last week, 25 shipments of grain destined for the German market were transported through the Klaipeda port, the publication says.
According to the European Commission, last year 4.8 million tons of grain worth 1.5 billion euros were imported into the EU from Russia and Belarus. The head of the Klaipeda port directorate, Algis Latakas, noted that 112 thousand tons of transit grain from Russia passed through the port in 2023, and it was loaded onto ships that went to both Africa and Europe.
Last year, the Lithuanian authorities proposed using the port of Klaipeda to export Ukrainian grain, but the main problem was its delivery to the terminals due to the different gauge of railways in Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania.
Since March 18, 2024, Lithuania has tightened control over the import of grain from Russia, as well as from “high-risk” countries, which included Belarus, Abkhazia and Transnistria.
The Lithuanian authorities took such measures following Latvia, which at the end of February completely banned the import of Russian grain. Grain transit through Latvian ports has been preserved.
Local businesses noted that they make good money from this, and a complete ban on the transit of Russian grain will negatively affect the cargo turnover of ports and railways. Since the beginning of the year, grain imports to Latvia from Russia have increased by almost 40%, and transit by almost 80%.
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