Request for Information Regarding Measures Addressing High Food Prices

27.11.2025. Nr. 3.3-11/2025/6945N

Dear Colleagues,

The Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia highly values the close cooperation between our countries and remains committed to further strengthening our partnership on matters of regional and economic significance.

Latvia has been experiencing a prolonged period of elevated food prices in the retail sector. Household spending on food remains high, and for lower-income groups it exceeds 30% of total household expenditure. To ensure the availability of daily groceries at prices aligned with residents’ purchasing power, a Memorandum on Food Trade was concluded at the end of May this year. The signatories—representatives of retailers, farmers, producers, and the public sector—agreed that cooperation, rather than regulatory intervention, offers the best approach for improving market functioning and achieving shared goals.

The memorandum includes activities such as establishing a basket of low-price products, creating a price comparison tool, and promoting local products. The first assessment of its implementation will be conducted by January 2026.

In parallel, to strengthen competition, enhance transparency, and facilitate consumer access to affordable products, Latvia has developed a solution for the continuous exchange of food price data for monitoring purposes. Major retailers will be required to submit daily data on key food products to the Central Statistical Bureau, where they will be made available to developers of price comparison tools for informing consumers.

Furthermore, the government has approved a pilot project introducing a reduced VAT rate of 12% for bread, fresh milk, fresh chilled poultry meat, and fresh poultry eggs (in shells) from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.

Recognising that high food prices create increased pressure on households and raise concerns about market dynamics and affordability—and noting that Eurostat data indicate that consumer price levels in the Baltic States exceed the EU average—we believe this challenge is shared across our region. In this context, we would appreciate the opportunity to learn from your experience.

We kindly request information on the following:

• Whether your country is facing similar challenges regarding high food prices;

• What measures, if any, have been implemented or are being considered at the policy level to address this issue;

• Any available insights, assessments, or best practices that you could share.

Any information you are able to provide would be highly valuable for our ongoing evaluation of potential solutions and for strengthening Baltic-level cooperation in promoting economic resilience and consumer welfare.

We thank you in advance for your time, cooperation, and support, and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,