Lithuania will detain Russian and Belarusian grain transported through the port of Klaipėda until testing to verify its origin is completed. The new requirement will come into force next week and could delay exports by two months or more.
The measure applies to wheat, barley, sunflower seeds and corn shipped from Russia or Belarus through the Baltic port. The shipments will not clear customs until the analysis results are ready, a representative of Lithuania’s Ministry of Agriculture told Reuters.
“The tests may take two months or more. If it is established that the declared origin is incorrect, the cargo will have to be returned or destroyed,” the representative said.Samples will be tested abroad
Lithuania began checking grain shipments from Russia and Belarus in September. The reason is concern that some of the produce may have been grown in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia and exported with a different declared origin.
The delay is expected to be extended further because Lithuania does not have a laboratory capable of carrying out the necessary tests. The samples will therefore have to be sent abroad for analysis.
All costs for storing, testing, returning or destroying the cargo will be covered by the exporters. If an incorrect origin is established, the shipment will not continue to its final market.
Baltic states call for a common ban
European Union sanctions ban imports of Russian grain, but its transit through the bloc remains permitted. In October, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania proposed banning the transit of Russian and Belarusian grain throughout the EU, while Estonia has already introduced its own restrictions.
Pressure to restrict Baltic routes is growing after Russia began using these routes more actively for exports. This came amid Ukrainian attacks on ships and infrastructure at Black Sea ports.
Russian and Ukrainian wheat exports through the Azov–Black Sea basin have been almost halted since mid-August. According to Matt Ammermann, a risk manager for commodity trading at StoneX, Russian wheat exports have reached about half their usual volumes, despite attempts to find alternative routes.
Sources: reuters.com