Ukraine, Latvia and the United Kingdom have signed an agreement on joint verification of the origin of grain that may have been illegally exported by Russia from the occupied Ukrainian territories. To identify suspicious cargo, the countries will use chemical and isotopic analysis, which makes it possible to establish the geographical origin of agricultural products.
The corresponding trilateral memorandum was signed on 21 October 2026, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine reported on 22 October.
The document provides for the introduction of a joint grain verification mechanism, the Grain Verification Scheme (GVS). Its task is to identify products that could have been illegally appropriated in the occupied territories of Ukraine and subsequently presented on international markets as goods of Russian or other origin.
The checks will cover four main types of agricultural products: wheat, corn, barley and sunflower seeds.
To determine the origin, specialists will take samples of products and study their chemical and isotopic composition. The results obtained are planned to be compared with a reference database containing characteristics of grain with confirmed geographical origin.
Such research will make it possible to identify inconsistencies between the actual origin of agricultural products and the information indicated in the accompanying documents. The results of laboratory checks may be used to build an evidence base in cases of suspected illegal export of Ukrainian grain.
The memorandum was signed by the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Taras Vysotskyi, the Minister of Agriculture of Latvia Uldis Augulis and the representative of the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Baroness Hayman.
The parties agreed to provide authorized agencies with access to the grain origin verification system, exchange scientific information, coordinate the work of laboratories and hold joint consultations when suspicious batches are found.
Particular attention will be paid to grain transported through Latvian ports and railway infrastructure. Latvia remains one of the transit routes for agricultural products from Russia, which creates a risk that grain exported from the occupied Ukrainian territories will enter international markets.
As Latvian public broadcasting LSM reports, Minister of Agriculture Uldis Augulis stressed that the country's transport infrastructure should not be used to transport illegally obtained Ukrainian products.
According to the minister, the use of scientific methods will increase the reliability of checks and make it more difficult to sell stolen grain under the guise of products of another origin.
Previously, Latvia has already begun checking suspicious batches of agricultural products transiting through its territory. According to LSM information of 18 October, Latvian supervisory authorities selected more than 20 grain samples and sent them to European laboratories. The first research results were expected at the end of October.
At the same time, the Latvian authorities admitted that laboratory checks themselves do not mean an automatic stop of cargo. For further actions, the results of the analysis and an appropriate legal basis are needed.
Ukraine and the Baltic states have been discussing mechanisms for controlling the origin of grain for several months. In September, representatives of the Ukrainian agricultural agency agreed with Latvian partners on practical steps to implement the GVS system.
A similar mechanism has already begun to be applied in Lithuania, in particular in the port of Klaipeda, where the origin of certain grain batches coming from states with an increased risk of illegal export of Ukrainian products is checked.
The memorandum signed by Ukraine, Latvia and the United Kingdom will be valid until 31 March 2027. By mutual consent, the parties will be able to extend its validity.
The new agreement should strengthen control over international grain trade and provide authorized bodies with additional tools to detect products illegally exported from the occupied territories of Ukraine. At the same time, the signing of the memorandum itself does not mean an automatic ban on transit or confiscation of cargo.
