Grain harvesting began much earlier than usual this year. Accordingly, the reception of grain at the terminals of the Liepaja port began earlier. However, the active transshipment period will begin only in September. The port workers are not happy that they are now essentially operating as warehouses. The portal Rus.Lsm.lv writes about this with reference to the “Dome Square” program of Latvian Radio 4. Grain harvesting this year began much earlier than usual. The reason was the weather, it was too hot and there was not enough precipitation. Agricultural cargo is one of the niches of the Liepaja port. The first grain shipments arrived earlier than usual. According to experts, the yield may be slightly better than last year, but both quantity and quality can be assessed after the end of threshing. According to Yuri Matveev, member of the board of Liepaja Bulk Terminal, it is still difficult for the terminals to understand where the grain that is now flowing into the port will be sent, because there are no specific contracts yet. And this is where the problem arises. “My criticism has always been that terminals should work for reloading, transshipment, fulfillment of concluded contracts, and not just accept storage, which no one can pay for. And then everyone wonders why we have such low turnover at the port. This is already problem with the beard. Our position is that we always try to find out from the client his wishes or his existing contract, and if there are at least one hundred thousand tons, then we are ready to fulfill them. But then we understand that the contract is on paper, there are deadlines. , there is quality, there is quantity. And then we are ready to work and satisfy the needs of customers as much as possible,” explained Yuri Matveev. In the meantime, cars are transporting grain to the port and storing everything – in the hope of contracts. Some already exist. But, as Yuri Matveev notes, they indicate “with shipment from August 15 to October 15,” or even “until December 15.” “That is, the buyer, and these are, as a rule, large global trading houses that deal in grain, can call when it is profitable for him. Regardless of our desires, problems that we may not have enough space there or anything else. And he will look at some freight components. And he can, at any time, when he pleases, send the ship for loading. Therefore, sit and guess – for three months you have a shipment of grain, which can leave either at the beginning or in the middle. or at the end of this period. And this is a common problem for all Latvian terminals that work with large quantities of grain,” says the expert. Currently, intensive threshing is taking place in Zemgale, and active work is also taking place in Kurzeme. In Vidzeme and Latgale the grain is still ripening, and gradually processing of only early varieties begins. Kristaps Amsils, chairman of the board of JSC Dobeles dzirnavnieks, told LETA that this year the quality of grain varies greatly depending on the variety. He noted that the hot and dry weather this summer had a negative impact on the quality of grain. Early winter wheat withered too quickly and did not mature to its potential yield and quality, and the gluten in the grain did not have time to develop. Winter barley yields this year are not as high as expected due to early re-cutting. Threshing of winter rye has also begun, the quality of which varies greatly between farms this year. At the same time, Amsils emphasized that due to the storm that covered Latvia on Monday and heavy rainfall, the situation with grain crops in Latvia has changed dramatically, especially in Zemgale and Kurzeme. It is too early to judge the overall damage, since rains and thunderstorms are still continuing, but it can already be predicted that both the volume of the harvest and the quality of the grain will suffer. In many areas, unharvested crops were washed away and fields were flooded.
