Lithuania strengthens control over imports of Russian grain – origin will be checked

Starting March 15, Lithuania will introduce stricter controls over grain imported from Russia and other high-risk countries. Each wagon or vehicle with imported grain intended for both the Lithuanian market and export through the port of Klaipeda will be checked. This was reported by LRT.

New decisions on even stricter control will be made in the near future. Then the origin of the grain transported through Lithuania will be checked, the Ministry of Agriculture reported.

“The Ministry of Agriculture, in response to information received about the sale of grain seized by Russia in the occupied territories through the ports of the Baltic Sea, has urgently taken measures to strengthen control over grain imported from Russia and other high-risk countries,” Agriculture Minister Kęsta Navickas said in a statement.

So far, only feed grain will be checked, and the inspection of food grain is to begin a little later.

The list of high-risk countries includes Russia, Belarus, the Transnistria region, which is not under the control of the Moldovan government, Russia-annexed Crimea and other occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as the occupied regions of Georgia – Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.

The products will be tested for pesticide residues, mycotoxins, and metals (lead, cadmium). Later, research will begin to determine the origin of the products.

As previously reported, on March 14, the Lithuanian Seimas adopted a resolution calling for a ban on grain imports from Russia and Belarus at the European level.

Tags: grain, Lithuania, grain quality, Russia