Lithuania to block grain customs clearance pending origin tests
The rules take effect Nov. 16 for Russian and Belarusian shipments through Klaipeda port, with exporters paying testing and storage costs.
Russian and Belarusian grain passing through Lithuania's Klaipeda port will face tighter origin checks starting Nov. 16, with customs clearance withheld pending verification. Reuters reported the change on Nov. 10, citing an official from Lithuania's Agriculture Ministry. The requirements cover maize, sunflower seeds, wheat and barley.
Lithuania began testing these shipments in September amid concern that some grain could come from Ukrainian areas occupied by Russia. According to the official, an inspection could require at least two months. The necessary testing must take place abroad because no Lithuanian laboratory can perform it.
Cargo will be kept at Klaipeda while authorities await results. The ministry said grain identified as having a different origin must be returned or destroyed. Exporters will bear the costs, including storage, testing and any return or destruction.
In October, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius urged the EU to sanction Russian grain and prohibit its transit. The Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian prime ministers also sought stronger action to prevent stolen grain from occupied Ukrainian territories reaching international markets through the EU. They requested additional support for the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes to help Ukraine export grain.
Estonia imposed its own transit prohibition on Russian and Belarusian grain in October. Neither Russia nor Belarus had been exporting grain through Estonia, but the measure was intended to stop such shipments in the future.
