In brief
A three-country memorandum envisages isotope and chemical testing to help identify agricultural produce illegally exported from occupied Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Latvia have signed a memorandum to introduce a Grain Verification Scheme, LIGA.net reported on October 22, citing Ukraine's agriculture ministry. Latvia is to check agricultural produce for possible origins in occupied Ukrainian territory.
The scheme would use isotope and chemical analysis to establish the geographical origin of wheat, maize, barley and sunflower seeds. The ministry says this should help identify suspicious shipments and gather evidence of possible illegal exports.
The memorandum provides for scientific data sharing, access for authorised agencies and coordination between laboratories. Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said stolen Ukrainian produce should not reach world markets disguised as goods of legitimate origin.
LIGA.net's report did not specify when testing would begin or give results from checks on individual shipments.