Lithuania will require Russian and Belarusian grain transported through the port of Klaipėda to be detained until checks confirming its origin are completed. This process could delay exports for several months. A representative of Lithuania’s Ministry of Agriculture told Reuters, reports UNN.
Details
In September, Lithuania began inspecting consignments of grain from Russia and Belarus after suspicions arose that some of the grain could have originated in Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow.
According to the official, starting next week, wheat, barley, sunflower seeds and corn arriving from Russia or Belarus for export through the Baltic port of Klaipėda will not undergo customs clearance until the inspection results are received.
"The inspections may take two months or longer," the ministry representative said. "If it turns out that the declared origin is false, the consignment will have to be returned or destroyed."
Since Lithuania does not have a laboratory capable of conducting the necessary analyses, carrying them out abroad requires additional time.
Exporters will bear all costs associated with storing, testing, returning or destroying the grain, the official added.
Although European Union sanctions prohibit the import of Russian grain, its transit through EU territory remains permitted.
Moscow has not yet commented on the legal status of grain harvested in regions internationally recognized as Ukrainian.
In addition
The Baltic countries seek to halt the transit of Russian and Belarusian grain through their ports. This is happening as Moscow has intensified its use of Baltic export routes following Ukraine’s attacks on vessels and infrastructure at Black Sea ports.
Last month, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania proposed introducing an EU-wide ban, while Estonia has already imposed its own restrictions.
Since mid-August, following attacks on vessels and terminals, shipments of Russian and Ukrainian wheat through the ports of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea basin have effectively halted.
According to Matt Ammermann, a commodity risk manager at StoneX, Russian wheat export volumes currently stand at only about half their usual levels, despite efforts to find alternative routes for shipping the product.