Ukraine, UK and Latvia sign memorandum on grain origin verification

Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Latvia have signed a trilateral memorandum on cooperation in verifying grain origins to combat the illegal removal of Ukrainian agricultural products from temporarily occupied territories. Signed on October 21, 2026, the agreement provides for the implementation of the Grain Verification Scheme (GVS), which will use scientific methods to determine the geographical origin of agricultural products. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine announced the agreement.

The new system will be based on isotopic and chemical analysis, making it possible to identify specific characteristics of agricultural products depending on where they were grown. The results will be compared with a reference database containing agricultural samples of verified origin. The verification process will cover four major crops: wheat, corn, barley and sunflower seed.

The memorandum provides authorized authorities with access to the GVS system, facilitates scientific data exchange and establishes coordination between specialized laboratories. The participating countries will also appoint responsible representatives, hold regular technical consultations and coordinate their actions when suspicious agricultural shipments are identified. This mechanism will help provide scientifically substantiated evidence of potentially illegal grain origins.

According to Ukraine’s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Taras Vysotskyi, the main objective of the cooperation is to prevent stolen Ukrainian agricultural products from being sold on global markets under the guise of legally sourced goods. Scientific verification methods are expected to strengthen the evidence base for identifying illegal shipments and improve cooperation among international partners in combating such trade.

The new system could be particularly important for monitoring grain flows transiting through Baltic ports. Ukraine, Latvia and the United Kingdom had previously discussed the possibility of verifying grain origins along these routes. Implementing the GVS mechanism will provide additional tools for identifying agricultural products originating from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories and improving transparency in international grain and oilseed trade.

Tags: Ukraine, grain, UK, Latvia, temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine