Latvian farmers demand ban on Russian and Belarusian food imports amid European protests

The farmers, who also took to the streets in their tractors, were asking for a reduction in excessive bureaucracy within the agriculture sector. Demonstrations were held at predetermined locations. They announced plans to march to the capital, Riga, should their demands not be met, even though no protests were held there on Monday, according to the Delfi portal.

In the city of Bauska, near the Lithuanian border, over a hundred farmers participated in the protest, as reported by the LETA agency. Liene Grantina, the organizer of the local event, expressed satisfaction with the turnout, stating it far exceeded her expectations.

"We are Europe, not the outskirts of Moscow. Our Latvian army should not eat Russian pastries, and our children shouldn't have to eat bread made from grain produced using pesticides banned 30 years ago," said Grantina, voicing her concerns.

Latvia's Agriculture Minister, Armands Krauze, noted that most demands put forth by the farmers had been addressed. He highlighted the existence of a draft law banning grain imports from Russia and Belarus, as reported by the LSM portal.

Europe has witnessed a surge in farmers' protests recently. At the start of the year, mass strikes took place in Germany, France, Romania, Greece, and Poland. Recently, these strikes even reached Brussels, with farmers rallying outside the European Parliament.

"We've started an international movement from Ireland to Poland," announced Sieta van Keimpema, the secretary of the Farmers Defence Force organization, at the end of January.

"We are here to defend our agriculture. We have tried for three years without success to catch the attention of the Belgian government. Finally, we have to step up and, united with the rest of Europe, fight for a common cause: securing the future of farming for us and our children," said Isabel Proost, a Flemish farmer, during a Brussels protest as of February 2024.

She added that the so-called "Brussels elites" seem to want them to disappear. The EU regulations, under the pretense of environmental protection, impose restrictive standards we can't meet. Moreover, the cheap imports from Ukraine and other non-European countries intensify the price pressure on us. This is unfair competition, she lamented.