In the previous list published by the Ministry of Economy at the beginning of this year, which covered only companies registered in Latvia, which had exported goods to Russia and Belarus in December 2023, there were 143 and 80 companies, respectively. Similar to the previous one, also this time the list published by the EM includes representatives of a wide variety of industries in alphabetical order, starting from larger and smaller food product manufacturers, to logistics companies and well-known local underwear manufacturers.
Ulmana “Mono” and other logistics companies
Also in the latest list, there are a large number of companies whose name does not mean anything to the public, as they are most often related to logistics, transport or warehouse services. In this category, the largest and most well-known company is SIA “Mono”, which boasts on its website that it is one of the first business structures in Latvia. The holding company operates in such areas as logistics and transport, financial services, manufacturing and construction and others. It should be noted that the founder and chairman of the board of “Mono” is Mihails Ulmans. Along with M. Ulman’s “Mono”, the list includes such logistics companies as SIA “Baltic Logistic System”, SIA “STELLA LOGISTICS”, SIA “ARROW LOGISTICS & SERVICES”, SIA “Big Logistics”, SIA “WELLMAN LOGISTICS” and others.
We remind you that already a year ago, the then head of the Central Statistics Office, Aija Žigure, drew attention to the fact that logistics companies appear in this list, because they export goods on behalf of other Latvian and also international companies. This gives reason to suspect that the official list of exporters is actually misleading, as some exporters have “found detours”, while others use logistics companies to export their goods, thus ensuring that they do not appear on the list under their own brand.
“Latvijas balzams” reveals its cards
Although there are relatively few food manufacturers on the latest EM list, most of them are known to the public and their products can also be found in our stores. Perhaps the most well-known of them is definitely one of the leading alcohol producers in the entire Baltics, JSC “AMBER LATVIJAS BALZAMS”, “Chocolette Confectionary”, whose chocolate can be found on store shelves under the brand “RED”. The list also includes SIA “Puratos Latvia”, SIA “Aizkraukles saldumi” and others. In June 2024, the fish processing company SIA “Verģi” also brought its products to Belarus.
Underwear made in Latvia is still available
As with food manufacturers, there is little change in the ranks of textile manufacturers in the list published by the EC. It still houses our country’s largest underwear and textile manufacturers: AS “Lauma Lingerie”, SIA “Lauma Fabrics” and SIA “VOVA”. “Truffle bee” Ltd.
Previously, one of the largest companies in the field, namely JSC Lauma Lingerie, told the LTV1 program “Panorāma” that almost 85% of its sales were exports to Russia and Belarus, and its termination would mean the company’s closure. JSC “Lauma Lingerie” and other Latvian manufacturers, which were historically created as manufacturers of the CIS countries and gained recognition precisely in these markets, are definitely not the only company that regularly faces a dilemma, namely whether to stop exporting goods to Russia and at the same time close the production plant, or continue work and receive criticism. At the same time, there are a number of Latvian companies that continue cooperation with the aggressor countries at various levels, providing services and importing goods, but these companies do not appear in the lists of exporters of goods.
In the chemical industry, only locals
The lists also do not include those international companies that have subsidiaries in Latvia, but export goods to Russia from other countries. The best example is also various food manufacturers and pharmaceutical and chemical industry companies. If, for example, Latvian local chemical industry companies “Biolar”, “Grindex”, “SOLEPHARM”, SIA “LORI RKF” or “Elpis” are found in the list published by the EM, then, for example, the pharmaceutical giants of Western countries and their subsidiary companies in Latvia as ” Abbott”, “Bayer”, “Gedeon”, “Johnson & Johnson”, “Pfizer”, “Roche”, “KRKA”, “Astra Zeneca” and many others, which are also market leaders in Latvia, do not appear in this list. The situation is similar in many other sectors that are not included in the lists of sanctions applied by the EU or the US, and companies from Western countries continue to supply goods to Russia or Belarus in accordance with the common position. For example, the American giant “Pepsico”, whose brands also fill the shelves of stores in Latvia, plans to restore the work of its production facilities in Russia as well. However, in the list of Latvian exporters to Russia, local “Aizkraukles Saldumi” and not “Pepsico” have entered Latvia.
The list of exporters to Russia also includes the Daugavpils-based AS “Ditton chain factory”, as well as the saw manufacturer SIA “PARITETS”, but most likely books and magazines were delivered to Russian readers by the company SIA “PNB PRINT”. The list of exporters to Belarus also includes the success story of Liepāja’s industrial development SIA “ICOTTON”, which produces various cotton products and hygiene products.
The list of exporters to Belarus also includes SIA “LDZ LOGISTIKA”, which is a subsidiary company of VAS “Latvijas dzelzceļš”, providing cargo forwarding and logistics services.
The list of importers is missing
Although there have been discussions and proposals, for the time being, various service providers have also escaped from the publication of lists, for example, the transit sector with the active participation of state capital companies and impressive volumes of transported cargo to Russia. This time, SIA “LDZ Logistika” appears in the list of exporters, but the state-owned manganese ore carrier “LDZ Cargo” does not appear in the lists. Importers who buy goods in Russia or Belarus and then sell them in Latvia or other markets have also been removed from the official public “shame” lists. These companies are the ones who buy goods from the companies of the aggressor countries. According to “Re:Baltica” research, during the first two years of the war, most of the grain and agricultural products, energy resources and metal alloys were imported into Latvia from Russia. Half of the largest importers are local companies, and the other half are some international companies.
The foreign trade data published by the Central Statistics Office show that in the five months of this year, Russia ranked fifth among Latvia’s largest export countries in the total volume of goods exports, right behind Sweden, Germany, Estonia and Lithuania. In May 2024, compared to May 2023, exports to Russia decreased by 5% and amounted to 84.7 million euros. The decrease was most affected by the drop in the export of mechanisms, mechanical devices by 5.5 million euros or 64.6%. During this period, imports from Russia decreased by 33.4% and amounted to 31.6 million euros. The decrease was mainly influenced by the drop in the import of plant products by 13.5 million euros or 97.6%.
Meanwhile, in the first five months of 2024, exports to Belarus decreased by 7.8% and amounted to 13.6 million euros. The decrease was mainly influenced by the drop in the export of textile materials and textile products by 2.3 million euros or 70.4%. On the other hand, imports from Belarus even increased by 8.1% in this period and amounted to 16.4 million euros. The increase in imports from Belarus was most influenced by the increase in the import of plastics, rubber and their products by 1 million euros or 59.1%.
clarified information in the first paragraph
2024-08-25 15:45:28