The Minister of Economics will visit "Latraps" and "Latvijas Piena"

On Friday, February 20, Minister of Economics Dana Reizniece-Ozola will travel to Zemgale, where she will visit LPKS "LATRAPS" and the company "Latvijas Piens", a company fully owned by Latvian farmers' cooperatives. to discuss current issues in crop production, milk production and processing.

Juris Lazdins, Chairman of the Association "Farmers' Council": "We are pleased that the Minister of Economics has found time during this busy period of the Latvian presidency to visit the farmer-owned companies "Latraps" and "Latvijas Piens". Such a visit is an excellent opportunity for both company managers and farmers to discuss current agricultural issues and problems with the minister in person. We hope that the talks will be constructive and will be followed by further successful cooperation to strengthen Latvian agriculture."

During the meeting, the LATRAPS cooperative will discuss the introduction of changes to the excise-free diesel fuel system for farmers, the components of the mandatory electricity procurement, the costs of the electricity transmission system service tariff and their possible reduction, etc. As indicated by the General Director of the LATRAPS cooperative, these issues are very important for the competitiveness of Latvian agricultural enterprises. E.Ruža: "Since the Ministry of Economics, in my opinion, is the one most responsible for the development of the economy in our country, it is with its head that we hope to discuss and find solutions to the problems that currently prevent us from developing and competing with entrepreneurs from other countries."

In turn, the dairy processing company will discuss the possibilities of introducing a fairer distribution of milk purchase prices in the food chain, possible solutions for postponing mandatory State Social Insurance contributions (VSAOI) for at least 5 months for dairy production companies in difficulty, support for the production of high value-added products, etc.

Anita Skudra, Chairwoman of the Board of SIA "Latvijas Piens": "I believe that we need to create a common agricultural strategy for the next 5-10 years, because we do not have one in the country. This would also lead to more successful consolidation of the sector, which would eliminate the problems caused by the high fragmentation of the dairy sector. We understand that in order to get out of the crisis situation, we need to rapidly develop exports, which we can achieve by producing high-value-added products and finding new support programs for investments. This is a joint effort that must be carried out by entrepreneurs and the state."

The Minister of Economy will participate in the visit. Dana Reizniece – Oak, Advisor to the Minister for Communications Arno Pyatkin, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Economics Edgars Putra, Chairman of the Jelgava City Council Andris Ravins, General Director of LPKS "LATRAPS" Edgars Ruza, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of SIA "Latvijas Piens" Anita Skudra, Chairman of the Board of the dairy cooperative "Trikāta KS" Uldis Krievārs and chairman of the association "Farmers' Council" Juris Lazdins and vice-chairmen Maira Dzelzkalėja and Juris Cirulis.

Press release: PRes_Minister of Economy will visit LATRAPS and Latvijas Piens