Great Britain, Ukraine and Latvia Strengthen Verification of Ukrainian Grain Origin

Ukraine, Great Britain, and Latvia are stepping up cooperation to prevent the illegal export of grain from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. To achieve this, the countries have signed a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding regarding the implementation of the Grain Verification Scheme (GVS).

Under the signed document, the cooperation involves applying modern scientific methods to verify the origin of agricultural products. Specifically, isotope and chemical analysis will be used to determine the geographical origin of grain samples. These samples will be compared against a reference database containing information on products with verified origin.

The verification mechanism will cover crops such as wheat, corn, maize, barley, and sunflower seeds. This will make it possible to promptly identify batches of agricultural products of questionable origin and obtain scientifically grounded evidence regarding the possible illegal appropriation or export of Ukrainian grain.

The Memorandum was signed by Taras Vysotskyi, Ukraine's Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Baroness Hayman Ullock, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Uldis Augulis, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia. The signing follows a working meeting between Ukraine and Latvia in Riga on September 25, 2026.

The countries agreed to provide authorized bodies with access to the GVS system, exchange scientific data, coordinate laboratory activities, and designate responsible representatives for regular interaction. Technical consultations and coordinated actions for handling suspicious agricultural batches are also envisaged.

"Russia has no right to profit from Ukrainian grain illegally removed from temporarily occupied territories. We must not allow stolen agricultural products to enter world markets disguised as goods of legal origin," Taras Vysotskyi emphasized.