In Latvia, the consumption of local vegetables, fruits and berries has sharply decreased. At the same time, the supply of imported products in stores has increased significantly. Why does this happen, and why do retail chains choose non-domestic goods? – said Martins Trons, member of the board of the Zemnieku saeima company. Another interesting trend: strawberries and cucumbers that are passed off as Latvian are not always grown in Latvia.” One of the arguments of the Ministry of Finance in favor of increasing the VAT rate on Latvian fruits, vegetables and berries from 5% to 12% was to limit the influx of imported products. But now, when the season is just beginning, it is obvious that the set goal did not come true, and the opposite has happened. Now we see that in stores you can buy much cheaper imported products at a price that the local manufacturer cannot offer, says Martins Trons.