Latvian farms want fuel reserve fee halted as food costs rise

The farmers’ association Zemnieku saeima has asked the Saeima and the Cabinet of Ministers to continue work on lower fuel prices and to suspend the security-reserve service fee on fuel until 31 December 2026.

Agriculture policy expert Mārtiņš Trons said measures already adopted, and the plan to abolish the mandatory biofuel blend in marked agricultural diesel, deserve a positive assessment but are not enough. Marked farm diesel already has a separate, reduced excise rate, so a general excise cut does not give farms the same direct saving as buyers of ordinary diesel. He said high fuel prices make field work, food production and food delivery more expensive, and that delaying a decision prolongs the cost burden on farmers, businesses in other sectors and residents.

In September the association asked parliament and the government to introduce further fuel-price measures at once. One proposal was a temporary suspension of the fuel security-reserve service fee until the end of the year. The Saeima supported the relevant Energy Law amendments in principle on 1 October, with the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) among the main sponsors. The association also asked why a decision is still delayed, recalling a pre-election commitment by ZZS and Economy Minister Viktors Valainis to seek practical ways to reduce fuel prices.

After the election, the Budget and Finance (Tax) Committee on 14 October asked that the bill be removed from the Saeima agenda for 15 October until the committee takes a further decision. Trons said almost all members of the committee backed that step. TVNET has reported that the committee did not support the ZZS amendments for a final reading on 14 October.

The proposal would have dropped the security-reserve service fee and late-payment charges on fuel until 31 December 2026. ZZS said the rate has been €81.26 per tonne of oil products since 1 January 2026. The party and Zemnieku saeima estimate that cancelling the fee and passing the full reduction on to buyers could lower the final fuel price by about eight cents a litre. The Latvian Fuel Traders Association said the charge could be left unapplied and kept out of the price from the day after such a law took effect.

The association said high fuel costs are an extra burden while farms also face more expensive mineral fertiliser and must meet environmental and climate requirements. It warned that funding envisaged for Latvian agriculture in the EU multiannual budget for 2028–2034 could fall by about 20 percent, and that preventing this requires active action by the Latvian government. Trons said prolonged cost pressure can also threaten large farms that have so far remained viable, because a farmer must buy fertiliser and fuel, meet the set requirements and still produce food at a competitive price.