Lithuania Tightens Controls on Russian Grain Shipments from Klaipėda

Lithuanian Agriculture Minister Kęstutis Mažeika has ordered tighter controls on shipments of Russian grain from Klaipėda. The measures involve tests that will determine the origin of the cargo. Lithuanian authorities had not previously conducted such analyses.

The first samples have already been taken. They will be examined at a laboratory in France, which may take two to three weeks, BNS reports.

The checks were prompted by suspicions that the grain may originate from Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.

The checks followed a meeting with Ukrainian representatives, who warned that Russia could try to use ports in Latvia and Lithuania to ship products from the occupied territories.

The shipment from which the samples were taken arrived from Kaliningrad.

This year, the port of Klaipėda has already handled 47,000 tonnes of grain declared as Russian. Its handling, like that of a number of other types of cargo, is not subject to sanctions.