Kulbergs: Latvia cannot ban transit of grain from Russia

Official Riga does not have the ability to prohibit the transit of grain from Russia or increase by 300 percent the fee for the use of its railway infrastructure, since this grain is no longer Russian.

This statement was made by the Prime Minister of Latvia Andris Kulbergs, speaking to reporters following a government meeting.

"At the moment, Latvia cannot increase the fee for using the railway infrastructure for the transit of Russian grain by 300 percent or completely ban it," Kulbergs said.

According to the State Tax Service of Latvia, from the beginning of 2026 to September from Russia transported 593.66 thousand tons of grain through Latvia in transit. Latvia has contracts for another 300 thousand tons, while the country's authorities are discussing the possibility of a complete ban on transit or a radical increase in its cost.

The Prime minister explained that at the time of receipt of grain from It actually belongs to Russia on the territory of the republic already to Latvia's strategic partners — the USA, Switzerland and Japan.

"It is they who buy this grain, acting as the world's largest corporations," the head of government stated.

According to him, after studying the issue in Riga came to the conclusion that the ban on the transit of grain from Russia will create for Latvia an immediate risk of lawsuits in the amount of 200 to 800 million euros.

Earlier, EADaily reported that the Estonian authorities decided to impose a ban on the transit of grain from Russia and Belarus. However, at the time of the ban, Tallinn did not have existing grain transit contracts.