Latvia plans 300% tariff on grain from Russia and Belarus

VILNIUS, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Latvia's government plans to impose a 300% tariff on grain arriving from Russia and Belarus, the Baltic country's Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said on Monday.

Officials in Latvia and its neighbour Lithuania last week said they considered ending shipments of Russian grain through their ports after Moscow stepped up the transits in response to attacks by Ukraine on its Baltic ports.

Russian exporters are moving grain via Latvia, an EU and NATO member, to other markets, analysts and traders have said.

A ban or high tariffs could cut off a key alternative at a time when Black Sea and Azov Sea routes have been paralysed by Ukrainian drone strikes.

Russia ​exported 46.3 million metric tons of grain via ports in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea in the last exporting season - ​July 2025 to June 2026 - accounting for 90% of total Russian seaborne grain exports, industry data shows.

(Reporting by Andrius Sytas, editing by Terje Solsvik)