Lithuania will detain Russian and Belarusian grain transported through the port of Klaipeda until inspections of its origin are completed. The procedure could drag on for several months, Reuters reports, citing a representative of the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture.
In September, the country began inspections of grain shipments from Russia and Belarus, as it suspected that some of the products might originate from Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow.
According to a representative of the agency, starting next week, wheat, barley, sunflower seeds, and corn from Russia or Belarus destined for export through the Baltic port of Klaipeda will not undergo customs clearance until test results are received.
"Inspections may take two months or more," the official noted.
He added that if the declared origin of the grain turns out to be false, the cargo will have to be returned or destroyed.
Lithuania does not have a laboratory capable of conducting the necessary tests, so samples have to be sent abroad. This further prolongs the procedure. All costs for storage, inspection, return, or destruction of the grain will be borne by the exporters.
Despite the fact that European Union sanctions prohibit the import of Russian grain, its transit through EU territory remains permitted. Moscow has not commented on the legal status of grain harvested in territories recognized by the international community as Ukrainian.
The Baltic countries are trying to secure an end to the transit of Russian and Belarusian grain through their ports. This is due to Moscow's increased use of Baltic export routes following Ukrainian strikes on vessels and infrastructure at Black Sea ports.
Last month, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania proposed introducing a corresponding ban at the EU level. At the same time, Estonia has already applied its own restrictions on the transit of Russian and Belarusian grain through its territory.
According to Matt Ammermann, a commodity risk manager at StoneX, Russian wheat exports currently stand at approximately half of normal volumes, despite attempts to find alternative supply routes.
Moscow has managed to find opportunities for grain exports in Lithuania, which is the only one of the three Baltic countries that has not yet restricted the transit of Russian grain. Only since the beginning of September did it begin checking whether grain is being transported from Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
On October 28, it became known that Russia's grain ports on the Sea of Azov had resumed operations for the first time since July, when they were halted due to Ukrainian drone strikes.
Russia has begun using the World War II-era Arctic sea route for grain exports for the first time. The reason was the halt of trade in the Black Sea due to the war in Ukraine and warnings about risks in the Baltic Sea.