Riga, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Latvian parliament passed a bill on banning the import of Russian and Belarusian agricultural products through a fast-track procedure on Feb. 22.
According to a press release issued by the press service of the Latvian Parliament, the bill, which was jointly drafted by several ministries of the Ministry of Agriculture of Latvia, provides for a ban on the import of agricultural products and animal feed from Russia and Belarus, including the import of Russian-Belarusian related products from third countries.
The Act will be enacted and entered into force by Latvia**. The ban is valid until 1 July 2025 and can be extended if necessary. The Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia will issue a list of prohibited agricultural products and animal feed within 14 days of the entry into force of the ban.
Latvian Agriculture Minister Krauser said at a press conference on January 30 that the Latvian Ministry of Agriculture has begun to work on a draft law that will not allow grain from Russia and Belarus to be imported into Latvia, but that Latvia will not prohibit Russian and Belarusian grain from transiting Latvia to other EU countries.
According to official Latvian data, Latvia is the second largest importer of Russian agricultural products and food products in the European Union, after Spain. In 2023, Latvia imported 420,000 tons of grain from Russia, an increase of 59 percent compared to 20229%。