Since May, when the memorandum on reducing food prices was signed, prices for food products in the low-price category in Latvia have decreased by 0.8%, said Minister of Economics Viktor Valainis (SCP) in an interview on the '900 seconds' program on TV3, LETA reports.
“We see that there is a decrease in some product groups, but not in all,” noted Valainis, adding that since the signing of the memorandum, prices for products from the 'low-price basket' have decreased by an average of 0.8%.
He also pointed out that Latvia is experiencing a trend opposite to that of Estonia, where food prices continue to rise.
As previously reported, on May 27, 2025, Valainis, along with the executive director of the Latvian Association of Food Traders Noris Kruziitis, the chairman of the board of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Janis Endzins, the head of the Central Union of Dairy Farmers of Latvia Janis Sholks, the chairwoman of the Federation of Food Enterprises of Latvia Inara Shure, the chairman of the board of the Council for Cooperation of Agricultural Organizations Guntis Gutmanis, the chairman of the board of the 'Farmers' Saeima' society Juris Lazdins, the director of the Consumer Rights Protection Center (CRPC) Zaiga Liepina, and other partners signed a memorandum on reducing food prices.
The Ministry of Economics set a goal to achieve a 20% reduction in prices for major groups of food products, as well as to increase the share of Latvian products in retail chains.
The memorandum provides for the introduction of a 'low-price product basket', the creation of a price comparison tool, and the increase of the share of locally produced products in stores.
The creation of the 'low-price product basket' stipulates that in each of the ten product categories there must be at least one product at the lowest price in the category, as well as regular replacement of these products with others from the same category. The largest retail chains implemented such baskets in June this year.
In addition, on August 12 of this year, the government decided that certain retailers would have to provide information to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) for monitoring prices and observing the food market.
The regulation stipulates the obligation to provide data to the CSB upon request in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers. This obligation applies to those retailers whose net turnover in the last financial year exceeded 400 million euros. Other food retailers have the right to submit data voluntarily.
The largest retail chains will have to start providing data to the CSB on products from the list of essential food products approved by the Cabinet of Ministers starting December 1 of this year.
According to Firmas.lv, in the last financial year, the following had a turnover of over 400 million euros: SIA 'Rimi Latvia' — 1.126 billion euros, SIA 'Maxima Latvija' — 1.102 billion euros, and SIA 'Lidl Latvija' — 460.87 million euros.
It was also reported that consumer prices in Latvia in October of this year increased by 0.4% compared to September, and in annual terms — compared to October 2024 — by 4.3%, according to data from the CSB. At the same time, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 0.5% over the month and by 5.6% over the year.
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