After the Closure of Mere, Latvian Producers May Lose Goods 0 322

Let us remind you that under the 21st package of sanctions of the European Union, Russian entrepreneur Sergey Schneider, the owner of LLC Latprodukti, which manages the Mere store chain in Latvia, has come under restrictions. As a result, the company can no longer continue its business activities, reports nra.lv.

According to Danusevich, the closure of the stores has put dozens of Latvian producers and food suppliers in a difficult situation.

"We demand immediate action from the government, as dozens of honest Latvian producers and food suppliers have found themselves in an extremely difficult position after the closure of the Russian store chain Mere and the imposition of sanctions."

He noted that the enterprises supplied products to stores that were operating legally in Latvia at that time. After the sanctions were imposed, bank accounts were frozen, suppliers did not receive payments, and products remained in warehouses.

"Now the stores are closed, bank accounts are frozen, local farmers and producers are not being paid, and the products they produced are stuck in warehouses by the tons, where they are at risk of spoilage."

In his address, Danusevich proposed three urgent steps for the government:

• urgently hold a meeting involving the government, the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Intelligence Service (FIS), and representatives of the affected producers;
• organize an inventory of goods in the closed stores and in the Mere warehouses to determine which products belong to Latvian suppliers;
• together with the FIS, ensure that entrepreneurs can export and return unpaid products.

According to the head of the association, sanctions against Russian companies are an important tool, but the state must do everything possible to ensure that their consequences do not lead to losses for honest Latvian producers.

"The imposition of sanctions is important, but the state must not allow their consequences to fall on the shoulders of our honest producers."