Despite sanctions and other business risks associated with Russia, exports of Latvian goods to this country remains stable. In the first half of the year Latvian companies exported to Russia goods worth EUR 560 million, which is slightly more when compared to the corresponding period of 2022, as reported by LTV programme De Facto.
The list of exporters published by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (CSP) indicates that a wide range of sectors continue using the opportunity to profit in Russia and Belarus. There are also companies that commenced their cooperation with these countries after the start of the war.
The list published by CSP mentions 169 businesses that export goods to Russia and 94 that export goods to Belarus.
Annual accounts of those companies also list the portion of their turnover that comes from Russian or Belarusian market. In some cases the latest accounts are available only for 2021, according to the programme.
The published list contains companies like Grindeks JSC, Pernod Ricard Eastern Europe Operations LLC, Olainfarm JSC, Green Trace LLC, Bohnekamp LLC and others.
De Facto stresses that turnover-wise Grindeks is the biggest company that continues exporting goods to Belarus. Its subsidiary Kalceks is one of the biggest companies that exports goods to Russia.
The annual account for 2022 mentions that revenue from the Russian market was slightly above EUR 70 million, which is equal to a quarter of turnover.
The company decided to not answer questions regarding trade with Russia.
Among the exporters is Latvia’s other pharmaceutical giant Olainfarm. This company has plans to explore other markets. At the same time, Olainfarm stresses that it is still permitted to export medicines to Russia, the programme adds.
On the 16th of August, Latvia’s Minister of Economy Ilze Indriksone ordered CSP to publish a list of companies that export goods to Russia and Belarus. She also said CSP is to update this list once a month.
The list was published by CSP on the 16th of August. The list includes companies that continue exporting goods to Russia and Belarus since the start of 2022.
The publication of this list did cause a strong response from some of the companies on that list. Many of them rushed in with assurances that they ceased exporting goods to Russia and Belarus after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Complaints about the inaccuracies in the list were voiced by companies like Valmieras stikla šķiedra, SAF Tehnika, Dobeles dzirnavnieks and the Latvian Employers’ Confederation President Andris Bite, who owns the company Karavela.
Later CSP updated the list of companies that continue exporting goods to Russia and Belarus, leaving only the companies still active in the two countries.
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