Context: On August 21, 2026, the newspaper SB. Belarus Segodnya reported on the high yields of Belarusian barley and rapeseed during the current harvest season. The results were attributed to new Belarusian varieties, which it said weremore productive than foreign ones.
On August 14, 2026, Alena Rodovskaya, co-host of the program Vecherni Politicheski Kanal on Radio-Minsk, discussed food security and compared Belarus and Latvia.
“Our country’s food security is 100% guaranteed, meaning it is at the maximum level. In Latvia, it’s only 27%. <...> How can you not feed [a population of] two million? And yet [the Latvian authorities — ed. note] achieved only one-third food security.”
A similar statement was made on CTV’s 24 Chasa news program two days earlier.
“Latvia’s agricultural sector provides less than one-third of the country’s food supply. These figures are included in the sector’s development plan through 2036, which was drafted by Latvia’s Ministry of Agriculture.”
The Weekly Top Fake team reviewed the document, “The State of Latvian Agriculture and the Agricultural Development Plan: Roadmap for 2026–2036.” The figure of 27% does appear in the document, but it refers to a different statistic: the percentage of food products consumed in the country that are produced in Latvia. The remaining 73% is imported. For example, in Belarus, the ratio is reversed. Seventy-five percent of food products are produced domestically, while 25 percent are imported.
Although this indicator is related to food security, it does not reflect a country’s level of self-sufficiency. The fact that Latvia imports a large amount of food does not mean that it is unable to feed its population. The country simultaneously exports significant volumes of its own agricultural commodities while importing finished food products. For instance, it might sell grain and raw milk overseas while buying pasta, cheese, and yogurt.
The distinction is clearly illustrated by the example of grain. In 2025, Latvia harvested 3.2 million metric tons of grain, while its domestic consumption totaled 0.9 million metric tons. This means the country produces more than three times the amount of grain it consumes: its self-sufficiency rate is 344%. Latvia sells most of its grain abroad.
The production of milk and dairy products exceeds domestic demand. Latvia produced 978,700 metric tons and consumed 731,300 metric tons. The self-sufficiency rate is approximately 134%. Additionally, the country exports more of these products than it imports.
The self-sufficiency rate is even higher for eggs and egg products. The production of eggs equaled 966.1 million, while domestic consumption was 510.5 million. Thus, Latvia meets 189% of its own needs, with exports roughly doubling imports.
The situation is different for meat. The combined production of pork, beef, poultry, lamb, and goat meat totaled 90,100 metric tons, while domestic consumption amounted to 158,200 metric tons. This corresponds to a self-sufficiency rate of about 57%. However, the figures vary significantly depending on the type of meat. The production of beef in Latvia is 162% of the domestic demand, while poultry production is at 57%, and pork at 44%.
Contrary to what Rodovskaya’s remarks might suggest, Latvia does not always lag behind our country. Belarus is significantly ahead in milk self-sufficiency: 299.2% versus 133.8%. In terms of eggs, however, Latvia’s figure is higher — 189.2% compared to 131.7% for Belarus. In terms of grain self-sufficiency, Latvia leads Belarus, while Belarus outperforms Latvia in meat and vegetables. At the same time, Latvia acknowledges the need to increase its own food production.
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