On Tuesday, the government supported the amendments prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture to the rules on border crossing points and the inspections conducted there. According to the changes, Riga Airport will be designated as a place for the export of live hoofed animals to third countries.
The ministry explains that the changes are necessary to expand the list of cargo controlled at the border control point of the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) at Riga Airport, as well as to create additional export opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Currently, the import and export of live hoofed animals is only permitted through the PVD border control point "Paternieki" on the Latvian-Belarusian border. However, there has not yet been an officially designated location for the export of live animals in Latvia that is not a border control point.
The ministry notes that the need for changes is related to a potentially significant export project involving the air transportation of live cattle from Riga Airport to Central Asian countries.
It has been reported that entrepreneurs have requested the creation of the necessary infrastructure and services for the export of live cattle at the airport. Regular transportation of live cows from Estonia to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is planned through Riga Airport, which will become the main transshipment and dispatch point for cargo.
According to the ministry's estimates, the volume of transportation by the end of the year could amount to several thousand head of cattle.
