To strengthen the national ban on imports of agricultural and feed products from Russia and Belarus, on Tuesday, August 4th, the Government approved amendments to the Cabinet regulations expanding the list of products subject to the import ban. The ban will now also cover several product groups that continue to be imported into Latvia from Russia and Belarus in 2026 and were previously not included in the restrictions.
Until now, the import ban covered cereals, vegetables, fruit and certain feed products. It will now also apply to live animals, fish and fish products, dairy products, milling industry products, oilseeds, meat products, preparations of vegetables and fruit, as well as all products in the animal feed category. The ban will also cover coffee, tea and spices, certain animal and vegetable fats and oils, as well as sugar, molasses and by-products of sugar production. Under the law, these products can be included in the national import ban as they fall within the scope of agricultural and feed products.
The list of prohibited products has been expanded because foreign trade data show that several groups of agricultural and feed products not previously covered by the ban continue to be imported into Latvia from Russia and Belarus in 2026. From January to July 2026, agricultural, feed and food products worth EUR 24.9 million were imported from Russia and Belarus. Of this amount, agricultural and feed products accounted for EUR 18.3 million, while various food products accounted for EUR 6.6 million. The declared countries of destination included both Latvia and other EU Member States.
At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture is continuing work on broader regulation by preparing amendments to the Law on Agriculture and Rural Development that would allow the national import ban to be extended to food products in the near future.
The amendments to Cabinet Regulation No. 158 “Regulations on Agricultural and Feed Products Prohibited from Import into Latvia” will enter into force on the day following their publication in the official gazette “Latvijas Vēstnesis”.