Latvia’s Agriculture Minister, John Duklavs has said that Latvia’s farmers are coming out of the worst of a terrible year, where a Russian embargo damaged many businesses. 

Farmers in Latvia have found new export markets to fill the vacuum. Dublavs stated that the damage to the industry will be recovered, and will come back stronger than ever.

It is estimated that Russian sanctions cost Latvia’s farmers €140 million since August 2014, with €44 million of the losses in the dairy sector alone.

The Minister stated that 20% of Latvia’s bank loan portfolio is to its farmers. Therefore, having a stable banking system has been important to keeping stability within the farming sector.

Also in July 2014, it emerged that the European Commission and the European Investment Bank signed an agreement to cooperate in agriculture and rural development. This agreement gives stability to the rural community in many parts of the European Union.