Lithuania suspects Russia may sell grain stolen from Ukraine through Baltic ports

Lithuania has reported that Russia may be exporting stolen goods from Ukraine through the ports of the Baltic Sea, which has led the government to introduce enhanced control measures.

Delfi reports this with reference to a statement by the Ministry of Agriculture.

“We plan to conduct a comprehensive inspection of grain imported to Lithuania from high-risk countries, including an analysis of the origin of the grain. We are consulting with the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding the latter analysis, as only the UK has laboratories capable of verifying the origin of grain. The verification will come into effect in the near future after the methodological requirements are agreed upon,” the statement said.

The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that on February 21 it received a letter from the Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine stating that Russia is profiting from the export of grain from the occupied territories of Ukraine to third countries.

One of the possible ways to export stolen grain is to use transport and cargo companies and ports in the Baltic states.

“We take this information very seriously – Russia should not have any opportunity to use Lithuania’s infrastructure and profit from the sale of Ukrainian grain,” the ministry said in a statement.

As previously reported, Lithuania may impose a temporary ban on the import and transit of agricultural products and feed of Russian and Belarusian origin.

Tags: Lithuania, Russia, export, grain